Killing the Goose ?

It seems almost unbelievable, but there seems a real chance that the sport of Greyhound racing may be banned in New South Wales if a special enquiry headed by a former Justice of the High Court delivers an unfavourable finding.   All this was sparked when investigate journalists aired a report into the dog racing industry on the ABC's programme, Four Corners.

Animal lovers were horrified when footage clearly showed greyhounds being "blooded " as a way of increasing their race excitement.  Live bait - often comprising cats, rabbits or other small animals was attached in training to the lure which the dogs chase and they were deliberately  allowed to catch it and tear the animals to pieces.

The reaction was both prompt and furious.  The entire Greyhound Racing Board was sacked and ten leading trainers were suspended, and this independent enquiry was given the power to address animal welfare and self regulation concerns.   Animal welfare proponents are calling for a complete ban on Greyhound racing and the end of this sport.

Few would disagree that there is a need to crack down heavily on this form of abysmal animal cruelty and a need exists to regulate training methods, but to close down an entire industry because of the actions of a handful of trainers seems a huge over reaction.   Greyhound racing directly employs 2,700 people and a further 7,000 are the owners of racing dogs who have direct interest in their training programmes.   Each year $ 1.1 billion is wagered on Greyhound racing and this delivers $ 335 million in tax to state coffers.   Racing takes place at several purpose built Greyhound racing venues across this state.

Those same animal welfare people are agitating for the banning of steeplechase racing in the horse racing world and if they had their way the entire horse racing industry would cease. Steeplechase events are no longer run in most states and it is agreed that jumps increase the risk of falls for both horses and riders.  Overseas, agitators regularly try to disrupt the English Grand National as this historic race is run before huge crowds.

This animal welfare movement seems to attract fanatics.  From the time hunter gatherers discovered the benefits of farming animals have been part of the agricultural scene and now there is pressure to consider them another form of the human race, to be treated in the same way as people.  It should be noted that many animal rights crusaders are vegetarian and their aim is to remove all forms of meat from the food chain.   They would like to see  the closing of all abattoirs because the killing process causes animal distress.  The fact that half the world's children are undernourished is ignored in their quest to elevate animal rights ahead of the needs of humanity.

Hopefully, the new board of Greyhound Racing New South Wales ( GRNSW ) will crack down hard on shameful training practices and regulate this industry.  The "blooding " of racing dogs belongs in a far distant age and has no place in a modern industry - and that is exactly what this well patronised sport delivers in New South Wales.  The greatest benefit likely to emerge from this enquiry is putting in place the oversight that ensures that Greyhound racing is squeaky clean all the way from the breeding of pups, through the race training regimen - to the spectacle that draws crowds.