The ABC’s Four Corners program has released sickening footage of training practices involving the use of live baiting within the Australian greyhound racing industry.
Footage emerged after greyhound trainers were secretly filmed at a training facility in Queensland, owned by industry veteran Tom Noble.
The vision shows live piglets, possums and rabbits being strung up and hurled around a training track at high speeds with the dogs in close pursuit. The inevitable end for each animal is a vicious mauling.
Perhaps the most sickening moment shown is of a native possum being hurled around the training track 26 times, with fresh dogs released each lap. As the lure finally comes to a final stop, the possum is seen to be snapped in half, remaining stung to the lure only by its spinal cord.
As the corpse of the possum is removed, the man in picture remarks that the creature is still alive, before a second man jokes, “It wouldn’t have much go in it mate, its guts are ripped out.”
A dead possum hangs from a lure after being chased for almost an hour. (Image: ABC)
As a practice, live baiting has been banned and criminalised for decades. However in an interview with the ABC, Amanda Hill, a former steward for Greyhound Racing Victoria, notes that “It is probably harder to get caught live baiting, than it is to use performance enhancing drugs.”
Racing Queensland CEO Darren Condon was quick to condemn the acts.
“The practice of live baiting is not only criminal, it is abhorrent by its very nature and I am personally appalled by the vision… and the actions of those implicated in this activity,” Mr Condon said.
“There is no place in society for this sort of behaviour, let alone in greyhound racing.”
A piglet strung up to a lure, soon to be chased down by greyhounds. (Image: ABC)
The incident has shone a bright light on an industry that faces a constant battle with animal welfare groups that call for it to be dismantled.
As one of only eight countries in the world with a a commercial greyhound industry, the inevitability of that dismantling in Australia would appear clear to many. In the United States greyhound racing is now illegal in 39 states, and over 50 per cent of of tracks have been closed in the last decade.
However, with such a well established industry in Australia, not to mention the export programs in place that sees Australian trainers supply dogs to some of the world’s busiest tracks, such deconstruction could not simply be achieved with a bulldoze.
In Victoria, along with an independent investigation by the Racing Integrity Commissioner, the state government is moving to allocate up to $3 million from the Victorian Racing Infrastructure Fund towards bolstering Greyhound Racing Victoria’s animal welfare and integrity measures.
The question then becomes whether the industry can be trusted to self regulate and ensure the crimes witnessed on Four Corners are never repeated.
The greyhound industry has long promoted itself as being in high support of animal welfare. Greyhounds Australia proudly communicate their belief and commitment to “The quality and integrity of greyhound racing and the health and welfare of out greyhounds” on their website.
Whether this isolated group of greyhound trainers, practising the most appalling methods imaginable, can be shown to represent any portion of the industry outside of Tom Noble’s training facility will be revealed as the upcoming inquiries are made.
By nature the stakes associated with performance are heightened in a gambling-based industry, as the lure of a big pay day hangs just within reach. In this case the victims of this lure were not those so often associated with gambling, instead innocent animals put to death in the most horrific fashion.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Casper - Noble is it in for the money... and the beef pork and poultry industry is not in it for the money? It's all pure altruism to make sure we don't starve. No I don't shoot them, I don't even own a gun I couldn't think of anything more boring than shooting animals..The dogs do not rip the pig apart, any dog that tries to do that will not live long,as no dog can take on a large pig in a fight and live to remember it.The dogs are trained to pull the boar to the ground via the ear and then we flip it and then stab it in the heart with a hunting knife, it's fairly humane provided we get to the dogs quick enough . On the property we hunt the grazier, uses traps to control their numbers as well baits for dingo,fox and feral dogs and believe me those are far more painful ways to die. AR - What has keeping a pig or a chicken in a tiny cage, feeding it on it's own shit, pumping it full of steroids and antibiotics, then packing it into the back of a truck squashed together like sardines with the other poor beasts got to with animal husbandry ie selective breeding?Answer nothing - it has everything to do with money. Racing dogs and indeed racehorses are live stock, they are not pets.Just like sheepdogs on a farm are not pets.Your altruistic animal husbandry farmer will think nothing of putting a bullet in the head of a kelpie that doesn't work the way he likes.Some people just lead sheltered lives and can't see that wherever human beings manage animals for commercial gain cruelty and culling(animal husbandry) is inevitable whether it be breeding dogs or cats for the pet industry raising animals for the food industry or the gambling industry. Greyhound racing is a drop in the animal cruelty ocean really, but it is a soft target,most people are not interested in it, and would not care if it died (and lets face it that is the real aim here, Animals Australia and Animal Liberation, don't want to reform the industry to make it more humane...they want it dead),then they move onto their next target Horse Racing.and believe me there is plenty for them to find in that industry .You don't need to blood the ponies to make them race, you just fill em with cobalt (or whatever the latest thing is Cobalt is actually old hat, the trots guys moved on from that years ago) and whip the shit out of em' But they don't stop there, visit their websites, they want an end to factory farming,if they ever succeed ( which they never will because they will be taking on serious money) but lets imagine they did, then suddenly animal food products will cost about ten times what they do , and watch all those venting their moral superiority squeal like a factory sow if that ever happens..
Strummer Jones
Roar Rookie
Agree partly. Whilst the 4 Corners people are gleeing in their "kill" via social media, they have a role. BTW lets not forget Animals Australia. 4C is taking all the credit, but the truth is they (AA) were the ones that basically took all the footage and handed it to 4C. They are incredible! Finally, can everyone hold firm on the industry. There are a significant number of people hurting in the industry that are not guilty, so lets find out the facts as best we can over the coming weeks.
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
Safe to say we are on very, very different pages. And I'm absolutely okay with that. I think you're wrong but feel no need to argue with you about it. Good luck to you sir.
Bondy
Guest
Its disappointing also that no other media organisations in the country have the intellect to do such stories more so than the ABC being intelligent and brave .The ABC overall are a deep left wing organisation ..
SM
Guest
I watched it on iview last night, and like many found it truly sickening. On another issue, this sort of reporting is why the ABC should be fully funded and protected at all cost. You don't get this sort of thing anywhere else on Australian television. Well done to everyone at the ABC and Four Corners.
Casper
Guest
you probably don't get where the debate in the general public is coming from, the greyhounds aren't subject of the criticism, it's the baiters. I don't have a problem with people killing a cane toad because they do untold damage to native wildlife, can't see the point of 'humanely' freezing them to death. I hope when you go pig shooting that you do the humane thing & don't let your dogs rip the wild pig, clearly a pest, to shreds. I agree those feral cats are a greater problem, but one issue doesn't justify the other. What happens in the bush to rabbits, pigs etc. is generally to benefit the agricultural industry so there's a point to it, unlike this situation. Noble & his mates seem to be in it for the money, he was heard talking about how much the piglet cost him.
Casper
Guest
bottom line is they were looking for that edge, as footy players and cricketers often quote the 'one-percenters'. Where there's money involved, someone will push the boundaries, ask Lance Armstrong. Seems like the guys doing it, mostly evident in Tom Noble & his staff, seemed oblivious to the impact on the animals used in the live baiting. De-sensitised to the point where they'd just crack a joke about it, that doesn't go down well with the public. The key outcome now is the zealots have got the moral high ground and can milk this for all its worth and move against the next target whether it's thoroughbred hurdle racing, rodeo or similar events. The people in control of the industry must have had an inkling that this went on, surely they knew there was a reason these 'training' tracks are situated in such isolated areas where it's almost impossible to approach without being seen. Turn a blind eye until it hits the fan, that's really what's happened here.
Glenn Innes
Guest
9 monkeys - You just don't want to look the facts in the face, anyone who eats mass produced meat,pork or poultry is doing so for entertainment (they enjoy the taste) we are not hunter gatherers who must eat whatever can be found to survive.Anyone living in Australia can be easily sustained by a diet that avoids these products.It might be a bit bland, a touch boring, but more than adequate provided you make sure to eat nuts and beans. If you choose to eat them you are a financial patron of an industry far more cruel than greyhound racing,you use all the sophistry you like you are up to your ears in animal cruelty for no other reason than your desire for a flavoursome diet.For the record I choose not to eat them,but then I am in the fortunate position of having access my own eggs,wild catch fish and on occasion wild pig (caught by my dogs)if I didn't I might weaken and eat these products, although I would like to think that I wouldn't. As far as dog racing goes I am far more concerned about hobby trainers that keep more dogs than they have space to house or money to properly look after, or time to exercise properly and who overbreed like crazy, this is what they really should be cracking down on.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
The biggest surprise to me about the ABC story is that people seemed to be surprised. Maybe they haven't thought about greyhound racing, and why a dog would chase a mechanical device around a track. Maybe they thought the dogs put on a tracksuit and go for a light workout at the gym, before seeing their nutritionist and personal trainer, and slotting in a few pilates routines. I have been to a dog track once, to watch a friend's dog run, and it was one of the saddest experiences of my life :-( I don't know names, places, have no evidence or knowledge of cover-ups, but I know enough about dogs and gambling to have had some suspicion that live-baiting must be relatively common, and would have thought it a common assumption. I also know a bit about government and industry regulatory bodies, too, and would have thought most sports fans would have seen them missing in action before.
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
Greyhound racing is entertainment. Owners and trainers might be in it for the money, but there wouldn't be any money if people didn't want to pay to watch it. Live baiting may not be the entetainment but it is an element in the preparatory production line. For mine there is simply no defence for those who do it or moreover for an industry that appears to have largely turned a blind eye to it. And suggesting only vegans are allowed to be outraged is a nonsense. GI, unless you're a vegan why are you running this defence of sorts for such obvious animal cruelty?
AR
Guest
Genuinely have no idea what he's on about...
Glenn Innes
Guest
Pervertt No it is your moral compass that is warped, at least the feral animals used to blood these dogs led free lives until they were captured, unlike the poor beasts that produce the meat products that you probably think appear at the supermarket by magic.If you are a vegan I might take your argument seriously (and maybe you are in which case it has some merit.)If not you are financial supporter of the most hideous example of animal cruelty for no other reason than to save money on food and to enjoy the taste of meat a food product human beings can survive perfectly well without... Also the animals are not killed for entertainment they are killed to improve the peformance of the dogs,owners want winning dogs if trainers can't produce them they can't pay the bills..It is cheating however and those trainers that don't do it are disadvantaged and it is illegal but in the general scheme of things it is small beer indeed compared with the outrages of factory farming. c.
Common Sense
Roar Rookie
Again, WTF are you talking about?
Bondy
Guest
Is The Roar a fair gauge of public opinion it is free to post ?.. I concede Rugby is by far the most active Tab for comments at The Roar from my observations. Generally the sports that get maximum media exposure over many platforms (commercial tv,radio,print etc) AFL and NRL generally get the least amount of comments per annum at The Roar ? ...
Common Sense
Roar Rookie
So, you judge how important a subject is, and Australia's consensus, based on the comment counter on the Roar? If that was the case then Rugby Union would be the most popular sport in Australia. I think one of those threads maxed out at 1312 comments.
Bondy
Guest
AR My point was animal activists complained here about cruelty towards an animal " on this very website " heaps of them for more than two days and in excess of 200 comments were posted about a horse that collapsed naturally and died after the Mlb Cup . Though this issue with the greyhounds in an act of genuine intentional cruelty towards animals has received less than 35 comments on this site, go figure ....
AR
Guest
No idea what Bondy is on about with that post...
pervertt
Guest
Your moral compass needs to be reswung. Killing an animal for food is one thing; killing an animal for 'sport' or to entertain the working class is quite another. Live baiting is plain wrong and indefensible.
9 Monkeys
Roar Rookie
Hear, hear.
Common Sense
Guest
WTF are you talking about? This whole story has had animal welfare groups up the wazoo. Who do you think has been investigating this? Greyhound racing has always been a target of animal welfare groups.