This is despite 202 greyhounds being killed on Australian tracks in 2020 and 9,861 greyhounds injured. Of these, 48 deaths and 2,821 injuries occurred on NSW tracks.
As at 28 November 2021, 61 greyhounds have been killed on NSW tracks, 38% more than for the same period last year.
And many more dogs will be removed from the track with serious injuries and killed later at vet clinics.Tweed will have one circle and one straight track. This shows that the NSW government and Greyhound Racing NSW continue to ignore their own research into track safety. This is just one of the ways the NSW racing industry is misleading the public about their commitment to greyhound safety. You can read more in the “facts vs fiction” table below.
Racing industry research found the most important safety measure is that greyhounds should run on straight tracks. In 2020, 77% of fatal injuries occurred on track turns.
Locals are mobilising against the track and the introduction of greyhound racing into their community. Leading animal welfare organisations and local politicians are also running campaigns to stop this track. Watch the video below to see why.Please sign the petititon or you can email NSW racing minister Kevin Anderson [email protected] and tell him we don’t want any more dog-killing tracks.
Look out for the “A Dog’s Breakfast” event in January 2022. This is an event organised by Greens Richmond candidate Mandy Nolan in collaboration with Animal Liberation and CPG.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Please sign this petition to tell the NSW Government we don’t want another dog-killing track. Anyone can sign this petition on behalf of the greyhounds.
In a recent article in the Tweed Valley Weekly, Greyhound Racing NSW “refuted suggestions that its Chinderah track will compromise the welfare of greyhounds“. CPG addresses a number of these “facts” in an attempt to set the record straight.
| FICTION | FACT |
| “The facility will be built to the best safety standards in greyhound racing …” |
In 2017, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) released a report commissioned by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW). The number one recommendation by UTS stated, “Clearly the best option is to use only straight tracks.” UTS added that the Australian Greyhound Industry should “reconsider their aversion to straight tracks and consider developing purpose-built straight tracks”. Other key recommendations were that the number of greyhounds in each race be reduced from eight to six and that an extended lure be installed at all tracks. Greyhound Racing NSW has chosen to ignore these recommendations. Straight track racing is conducted on only three Australian tracks and the proposed Tweed track will have one circle track and one straight track. There has been no commitment from GRNSW that only six dog races will be conducted at the Tweed track. Read more on the industry’s failures to address track safety in CPG’s research report Lethal Tracks 2020. |
| “We also now have in place an Injury Rebate Scheme, where GRNSW provides the owner with financial assistance to ensure that a seriously injured greyhound receives appropriate veterinary care and treatment” |
Greyhound injury rebate schemes provide inadequate amounts for veterinary treatment and nothing for day-to-day costs like rehabilitation. This means that many industry participants still choose to euthanase young and otherwise healthy greyhounds. 176 or 87% of the greyhounds killed on Australian tracks in 2020 suffered fractured legs. Many of these fractures are repairable at an estimated cost of $4,000. The GRNSW rebate scheme offers only $2,500 (except in exceptional circumstances). It costs about $4 for the euthanasia drugs to put a greyhound down. |
| “Our injury rates have decreased dramatically.” |
According to the most recent industry data the only reduction in injury rates to greyhounds in NSW between Q3 2019 and Q3 2020 was in the minor category (1-10 day stand-down). Injuries in all other categories increased as below: Medium showed an increase from 161 to 167 (increase in starts per 1000 from 7.9 to 9.1)* Major I showed an increase from 76 to 86 (increase from 3.7 to 3.9) Major II showed an increase from 35 to 39 (increase from 1.7 to 1.9) While the total number of greyhound injuries decreased from 627 to 575, this was wholly driven by the reduction in the Minor category of injuries. Additionally, in NSW Q4 2019 had the highest racing injury rate of any quarter since injury reporting began in 2016. It eclipsed the previous record set in Q1 2019. * Rather than arriving at an injury rate by simply dividing the number of individual greyhounds by the number of injuries, the industry counts every greyhound every time it runs. This “per start” injury rate grossly underestimates the risk of injury over a year of racing for the average dog. In Q3 2019 3,781 individual greyhounds raced on NSW tracks and in Q3 2020 3,862 raced. |
| Improved “rehoming of greyhounds” |
According to industry data, in FY19/20 246 greyhounds were accepted by GAP NSW, the industry-funded adoption program. 373 were accepted by another animal rescue or adoption agency. Most of these agencies are funded by donation only and are run by volunteer workers. Additionally, 59 greyhounds were euthanased by the industry as being “behaviourally unsuitable” for adoption and 28 were euthanased because “rehoming attempts failed”. Private greyhound rescues usually have a ‘no kill’ policy and take greyhounds rejected by GAP NSW. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, in 2018, GAP NSW rehomed 415 greyhounds on a budget of $1,639,430, excluding marketing costs of $724,000. That’s $3950 per greyhound or nearly $5700 if you include the marketing. Over the same period, private rehomer Greyhound Rescue on a budget of $250,000, with their no-kill policy, homed 200 dogs, at a cost of $1250 per greyhound. |