The Sport of - " Battlers " !

It used to be a common sight when the first rays of the rising sun appeared above the horizon each morning.   A man or woman leading a string of Greyhounds on the massive exercise walks that were needed to condition them for racing.

If horse racing was the " Sport of Kings ", then Greyhound racing was the  "Sport of Battlers ".  Only the wealthy could buy a promising horse at the yearling sales and then shell out for stabling fees and the cost of a celebrated trainer.  The results were often disappointing.  It was a rare horse that became a champion and delivered riches in prize money.

The thrill of being an " owner " for the less affluent belonged in the world of Greyhound racing. For a mere fraction of the costs associated with horse racing very ordinary men and women could buy a Greyhound pup, do the hard yards of training and preparing it for racing - and in some cases win fame and fortune if their prized dog became a champion.

A recent " Four Corners " report has clearly shown that all is not well within the Greyhound racing industry. That old time practice of " blooding " the dogs by tying a live rabbit or cat to the lure and letting them catch it and tear it to pieces still persists.   Animal lovers were shocked to learn that somewhere between thirteen and seventeen thousand dogs are put down every year because they lack the speed to be competitive at the raceway.   Only four in every hundred pups born lives beyond forty-two months of life.

Not surprisingly, animal lovers have called for a shut down of Greyhound racing in New South Wales and it seems likely that the Special Commission enquiring into Greyhound Racing in New South Wales will consider this option. It would be a devastating blow to the TAB because well over a billion dollars is wagered annually on that sport and as an industry it employs a lot of people, both directly and indirectly.

Evidence presented at this enquiry suggests that the sport is too fragmented to ever be brought under control.  There is a high degree of self regulation and this is not the first time that questions of cruelty have been raised and promises of correction given.  Animal rights activists point to former sports such as dog fighting and cock fighting that were made illegal - and years ago someone proposed to stage a bull fight at a rodeo and that was hastily added to sporting bans in this state.

To most people, placing a shut down on Greyhound racing would be an over reaction.  It is a legitimate sport and to suggest that the state government lacks the power to bring it under control and ensure that these forms of cruelty are eliminated is ridiculous.  It simply means that the industry as it exists today would have to accept great change and oversight.   That might not be popular with owners and trainers, hut it would be the price they have to pay to ensure that their sport enters the twenty-first century.

The first casualty in bringing Greyhound racing under control would be stabling, training and keeping racing Greyhounds in private homes and exercising them on public streets.   Just as the horse racing industry is closely regulated in where horses are kept and trained, similar arrangements should apply to dogs.   That will certainly sharply increase costs for owners, but it is the issue of low costs that is allowing for the rapid turnover of racing dogs in the hope of a rare champion emerging.

In the horse racing industry, the mating and production of foals is not prolific.  There must be a good chance of progeny delivering likely success and hence numbers are kept under control.  Once the need for racing dogs to come under the control of the racing commission tasked with their accommodation and training, the costs associated will see a dramatic drop in the numbers  - and it is the sheer number of unregulated pups that is delivering chaos to this industry.

Clearly, the answer is to take an unregulated industry and bring it within the boundaries of control. To simply throw up their hands and apply a blanket ban would do a great disservice to a sport that has wide public support !