Published research shows most Australians feel strongly that penalties for animal abuse are too low.
This also applies to greyhound racing, but the dog racing industry constantly hands out a mere slap on the wrist to its members. For example:
- Trainer who doped greyhounds with EPO has 12 year ban cut to 30-months
- Greyhounds test positive for drugs 10 times more than horses at races
- WA dog trainer disqualified for 18 months after using chicken blood
- Wagga racing club president disqualified for 16 months after doping greyhound
Although life bans exist in theory, they are rarely used by greyhound racing industry bodies and only when the crimes are horrendous. Even then, serious offenders banned in Australia sometimes get a job elsewhere. For example:
- Banned-for-life greyhound trainer still handled dogs years after live baiting scandal
- Queensland dog trainer banned for life for bribe attempt
- Life ban upheld in greyhound blood baiting case
- Man banned from greyhound racing after live animal baiting working in Ireland.
- Greyhounds trainers banned over mass grave in NSW
About industry penalties
It’s also not easy to find information about greyhound racing offence investigations and penalties on the internet. We’ve listed where they can be found for each state racing body here:
- NSW (interim actions) (final disciplinary-decisions) (appeals) (disqualifications, warned off and forfeits defaulters-list)
- VIC (decisions) (upcoming hearings) (historical decisions)
- SA (hearing) (inquiries)
- TAS (decisions) (appeals) (disqualifications, warned off and forfeits defaulters-list)
- WA (disqualifications) (
pending inquiries and appeals) - NT – decisions are all about gambling matters, i.e., virtually no animal welfare matters are pursued
- QLD – decisions remain on the QRIC website for a period of only six months; reconsidered-decisions
Penalties are different in each state so it is difficult to compare them nationally. There are also different levels of transparency, e.g., information about Queensland offences is only available for six months, after which it is removed.
See also Uproar over dog trainer’s ‘soft’ penalty, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), Timna Jacks