Earlier in the year, the normally niche sport of greyhound racing made the news for all the wrong reasons.
Now that several months have passed, have there been any changes to the sport that have improved the lot of the greyhound?
To do that I’ve looked south of the border, where Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has been investing in an expansion of their flagship Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP). GRV have been proactive in taking greyhounds from the racetrack to the couch, and have been increasing their investment recently.
According to GRV Greyhound Welfare Manager, Dr Linda Beer:
“Greyhound Racing Victoria (and therefore the greyhound racing industry itself) fully fund and operate the Greyhound Adoption Program in Victoria. There has been a significant increase in funding for the program over the past four years – not specifically following Four Corners episode aired in February – to improve the rehoming rate in Victoria. For example, in 2013 GRV committed an extra $1 million of funding to GAP.
“Growth in the amount of funding to the program is centred on providing more opportunities for trainers and owners to put their greyhounds into the program as well as the promotion of the suitability of greyhounds as pets to the wider public, as well as expanding and improving the facilities at GAP’s dedicated kennel facility in Seymour.”
So what we have in Victoria is a situation where we look to invest money on behalf of the greyhound, and give it to the right people that take pride in achieving strong outcomes for the dogs. With the increased funding, the achievements are very impressive indeed.
“GAP has broken the record for the number of greyhounds adopted in a single year in Victoria for the past five consecutive years. In the previous financial year (2013-14) the program adopted 536 greyhounds into new homes. In the 2014-15 GAP significantly broke that record again with more than 830 greyhounds going into new homes. This upward trend was apparent well before the Four Corners program went to air and is the result of a number of new initiatives that have been welcomed by the public and the industry.
“These adoption figures only include greyhounds that have been specifically adopted by GAP; they don’t include greyhounds that are kept privately by their owners or trainers as pets or greyhounds that are adopted through other rehoming groups. Generally, the number of greyhounds that are retired as pets privately each year is commensurate with the number of greyhounds adopted through the program.”
But after all the negative press around greyhound racing this year, who would want a greyhound? Are the public really willing to accept these dogs into their houses?
“Immediately following the airing of the program we heard reports of backlash against some of our adopters and foster carers who were walking their greyhounds. People would yell abusively at them on the streets, it was a very sad and uncalled for situation. Fortunately, this vitriol has subsided and people are beginning to understand that greyhounds make great pets and understand the breed weren’t to blame for the horrific footage that was shown. Our adoption applications decreased initially in the few weeks following the airing of the episode, but quickly returned to normal levels soon after.”
For those that have read my previous articles, I have been strongly advocating for money in NSW earned from greyhound racing to be redirected into greyhound adoption programs. Currently, more than enough of this money is locked up in the Intercode agreement and general Government revenue, rather than on the greyhound itself.
The commitment of the GRV, both in terms of financial and the hard work of dedicated people, shows this can and should happen.
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