While every state has greyhound welfare standards of some kind, they aren’t necessarily well enforced.
The acid test of these standards is the condition in which ex-racing dogs arrive at community-run rescues.
CPG’s survey – Observations about the health and living conditions of rescued greyhounds – allowed these volunteer rescue groups to speak out anonymously.
This means they could accurately describe the condition of greyhounds arriving on their doorstep without fear of reprisal from the industry participants from which they regularly receive ex-racers. The rescue groups reported that most dogs arriving at kennels were in poor condition and that some were unable to walk up or down stairs, had untreated wounds from track racing and weren’t socialised for rehoming.
Meanwhile, here are two typical case studies provided by rescue groups from around Australia.
Case Study : Dusty
This greyhound male was very underweight and had multiple corns on his foot after injuring himself racing and having a toe amputated. After being surrendered, he needed further surgery to remove grit from his problem foot and it took about three months to heal. He also had severe behavioural issues which required about six months of fluoxetine and training before he could be rehomed. The photos on the right show Dusty when he arrived at the rescue directly from the racing industry and how much better he looked after community volunteers had looked after him.
Case Study : Rita
Rita suffered an untreated fractured leg which was strapped to her body by a NSW industry participant and calcified in that position.
After she was surrendered to a community-run rescue, vet advice was sought and the leg was amputated because all three leg joints were ‘frozen’ and nothing could be done.
The pathology report on the amputated leg stated that the fracture was at least two years old and Rita would have been in extreme pain the entire time.
Rita is now happily rehomed and doing well. The cruelty by her racing industry owner was reported to the relevant state regulator.
