The Roar
The Roar

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Greyhound industry’s recovery is a dog's breakfast

The greyhound racing ban in NSW has been overturned. (Rainer Hungershausen / Flickr)
Expert
15th June, 2015
16

The greyhound racing business has put itself in a world of hurt. It’s not going to end any time soon and they deserve every bit of it.

Nothing is guaranteed to spark outrage and wreck a business like cruelty to animals.

Nobody ever much cared that greyhounds were testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs including amphetamines, methamphetamines, caffeine, anabolic steroids, Viagra and cocaine. Or that positive tests for performance-inhibiting drugs coincided with the start of betting on dogs to lose.

Allegations of infiltration by bikie groups, money laundering and race fixing didn’t particularly damage the sport’s image. Nor did its obstruction of an independent investigation in NSW in 2011.

The industry’s failures to self-regulate corrupt, fraudulent, negligent or improper training methods were never properly investigated. Whistleblowers were intimidated and driven out of the industry.

The epic fall of greyhound racing was the ABC’s Four Corners story about live baiting and endemic cruelty in the industry. Revelations of officials’ wilful blindness to live baiting was just the beginning of their troubles.

An avalanche of revolting stories followed. Mass greyhound graves were found. People revealed that unwanted dogs had been thrown off cliffs on the way home from losing races. One trainer killed a dog by drilling into its skull.

Society has strong expectations about how animals should be treated. The greyhound industry lost its social license to operate when it broke every one of them. Earning that license back means operating in a way that matches public expectations.

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First cab off the rank in the chain of responsibility has to be the state governments. Their complete failures at industry oversight and animal welfare deserve close attention.

In NSW, former Minister for Racing George Souris claimed that in his years on the job, “I never heard a word about the blooding of greyhounds, never heard a word.”

His successor, Troy Grant, had been Racing Minister for a year but only “lost confidence in the greyhound racing industry in New South Wales” in the week after Four Corners aired.

Neither claim is believable. It could not have slipped past either minister that, in 2013, evidence had been given at a Parliamentary inquiry into the industry that guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, kittens and possums were used in live baiting.

State governments need to step up and do what is fair and square their job – enforce the legislation governing animal welfare, greyhound racing and gambling.

The industry needs to take full responsibility for the monstrous cruelty they have hidden. They need to do outrage management 101 and apologise, immediately and wholeheartedly, for the cruelty that they consistently ignored.

I’ve searched high and low for a real apology in the days after the show aired. One that includes the word “sorry” and says what will be different in future. From administrators, there was criticism of the cruel minority, pleas of ignorance and calls of unfairness. Trainers were concerned that the industry would be damaged and pleaded innocence.

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Not one expressed affection or compassion for the greyhounds. It’s a heartlessness that just won’t wash with the public, whose frame of reference is the beloved family dog.

Finally, they need to accept that rapid cultural change and proper governance is the only way to get their business credibility back. Greyhound racing is being investigated in Victoria, Queensland and NSW. Associated boards in all three states have been sacked, stood down or resigned. Their credibility is in tatters and requests to continue self-regulation just reinforce the arrogance of the industry.

It’s in their interest to start working with governments on effective external regulation to show that greyhound racing is a compliant, legitimate business and not a shonky, two-bit insiders’ mafia.

The alternative is to wait for the outcomes of the investigations. By then, the industry’s reputation will have been trashed by follow-up stories that spawn endless slacktivist petitions. They will have to accept piecemeal, reactive policy on the government’s terms. Far more prudent to bite the bullet and straighten things out now.

Lynda Stoner, CEO of Animal Liberation NSW, said that inquiries will cause, “tinkering (to) be put in place that will make people feel warm and fuzzy for the moment…”

I don’t agree. Now that they’ve got the bit between their teeth, the public won’t tolerate 600 dogs being injured on tracks every month, 9000 greyhounds euthanised every year, and the possibility that live baiting is still going on.

They’re watching closely.

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In industries where animals are commodities, there will always be an uneasy tension between welfare and profit. Australia has the third biggest greyhound industry in the world. Australians alone bet between $3 and $4 billion annually on it. It’s not going to go away.

Why then is the industry risking becoming as popular as coal-seam gas and tobacco? All they have to do to get through this mess is hold government to account, apologise wholeheartedly to the public, and be transparent about exactly how they are cleaning up their business.

Most importantly, they need to show that they genuinely care about their dogs.

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