MANY people may not realise that Greyhound Racing NSW is actually the regulatory body for greyhound racing in the ACT. As such, anything that happens in this industry in NSW (good, bad and ugly) will likely affect us locally as the ACT Government has chosen (for now) to leave the oversight of greyhound racing in the hands of another.

For the last few months, the NSW Greyhound Racing Special Commission of Inquiry has revealed shocking details of what really happens in this industry. Witness after witness has confirmed the live baiting atrocities seen on February 2015 ABC’s Four Corners program and has further demonstrated how wide-spread this practice is. Additional information provided by Greyhounds Australasia during the hearings has also revealed the horrific number of greyhounds killed each year – 13,000 to 17,000 in Australia annually or an appalling kill rate of about 94% of this dog breed born each year.

Despite leaving the governance of this industry to NSW, the ACT Government still has a lot of influence over our only local greyhound racing organisation: The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club (CGRC). In April 2015, I wrote another article calling for the end to local government funding for greyhound racing which has been confirmed with them to be about $1 million annually and of which they pay no industry taxes. The prize money that the CGRC gives out every year is just below that amount according to Greyhounds Australasia’s website. As such, there is reasonable doubt that the Club could survive without that government subsidy, demonstrating that this is not a viable business.

Business, you ask? That’s exactly what the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club is, but disguised as an Incorporated Association which gives it the same not-for-profit legal status as your child’s footy club. Is this truly a not-for-profit organisation where members are not receiving pecuniary gain? What other group in the ACT (especially a gambling entity) receives as much financial assistance from the government and further gives out as much in prize money to its members? Only a few people benefit from this Club with the majority of number plates in their parking lot on race day actually being from NSW.

Since my last article was published, I have asked the relevant (now previous) Ministers if the funding of this organisation will ever end, and the answer has been “No” every time. While I do believe that our politicians generally care about animal welfare, the fact that our RSPCA inspectors have not yet obtained enough useful evidence of live baiting in the ACT to prosecute someone has resulted in the, ‘It doesn’t happen here’ response. Furthermore, the real problem of ‘high wastage’ is ignored completely since most of the registered trainers and owners at the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club are actually from NSW.

This is really a shame since the ACT has been a leader in animal welfare in so many ways. We haven’t had proof of massive puppy farm operations in the ACT either, but a new Breeding bill that came into effect last September was introduced to prevent it from ever occurring. We don’t have industrial pig farms in the ACT, but in February 2014 our legislators passed a bill banning sow stalls and farrowing crates for pigs. For these pieces of legislation, absolute proof or even practice wasn’t required for the ACT Government to take a proactive stance and to demonstrate to other parts of Australia that it could and should be done.

Right now, the ACT has an opportunity to make a significant difference to the lives of these amazing dogs across the country by once again taking a leadership stand in animal welfare. Unfortunately, it currently looks like the ACT Government is going to passively wait until the NSW Inquiry is complete (potentially in March), and allow another government to make regulatory decisions for them about this industry – which seems to go against the whole notion of self-government.

It is for these many reasons that RSPCA ACT does not think that greyhound racing belongs in the ACT. Here we have an industry that:

• Provides no economic benefit to the community;
• Is surviving only because of significant government subsidies;
• Creates very few local jobs;
• Primarily supports participants from NSW;
• Is not regulated by our local government; and
• Has an appalling reputation for animal welfare.

For this we say, “Greyhound Racing – Not in the ACT!”

We are now publically asking the ACT Government to take a leadership role by protecting the welfare of these dogs by ending funding and the deplorable industry of greyhound racing in the ACT. If you agree with us, I encourage you to sign the petition on our website.

Please also join me at the national rally locally organised by the ACT Greyhound Support Network at Glebe Park from 4:30pm to 6:30pm on Sunday, February 7th. With your help, we hope to end greyhound racing in the ACT.

Tammy Ven Dange is the CEO of RSPCA ACT

[Photo by bollocky, attribution licence]