Between reports of animal abuse and cruelty, and a state government that directed $37m of taxpayer funds this year to support it, Tasmania’s greyhound racing industry has long been the subject of controversy. A petition presented to parliament in 2022, that called for the withdrawal of taxpayer funding, attracted more than 13,000 signatures.
In early December a group of 24 veterinarians and 14 vet nurses from across Tasmania joined the growing community-based campaign to oppose greyhound racing, and that has helped expose an industry described as ‘unavoidably and unacceptably cruel and scandal-ridden’, and ‘archaic and outdated, all in the name of so-called entertainment’.
Tasmanian Greens Spokesperson for Animal Welfare Cassy O’Connor, said some of the vets calling for an end to greyhound racing were leaders in their profession, and their comments and courage should not be dismissed by the Liberals or Labor, both of whom continue to persistently back the industry.
“If the major parties won’t listen to the growing number of Tasmanians opposing greyhound racing, they should at least listen to animal welfare professionals,” she said.
Katrina Ward, a Hobart-based veterinary behaviour consultant and spokesperson for the vet group, said the industry had ‘no answer’ to problems that included the high rates of traumatic injuries that occurred during races.
“These gentle, sensitive and affectionate dogs are used as cannon fodder. They’re bred, raised and kept in often disgraceful conditions. And they’re discarded when too sick, too injured, or too slow. Greyhounds are the most systematically abused dogs in Australia,” she said.
According to Martin Lenz, Tasracing Chief Veterinary and Animal Welfare Officer, since 2018 there had been a ‘seven-fold reduction’ in the number of greyhounds deceased or euthanased due to racing injuries, while Andrew Jenkins, Tasracing CEO said the industry had ‘zero tolerance’ for any type of animal cruelty and ‘rules, policies and other strategies were in place to enhance animal welfare outcomes for greyhounds’.
Lenz said a Code of Practice for Greyhound Welfare has been drafted which will ‘set standards’ for nutrition, health, behaviour, hygiene, kennels, transport and medication throughout the greyhound lifecycle.
Data from Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed 49 racing greyhounds died during 2024 between January and September, with 25 euthanased due to illness, age and natural causes.
In making their opposition to greyhound racing public, the vet group demanded the government cease funding the industry by the end of 2029.
Anne Layton-Bennett