Dogs Home of Tasmania wants Tasmania to follow NZ and phase out greyhound racing
As New Zealand moves to end greyhound racing, the Dog’s Home of Tasmania is stepping up pressure on the Tasmanian government to immediately follow suit. Read why.
Tasmania
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The Dogs Home of Tasmania has launched a petition calling on the state government to follow New Zealand’s lead and end taxpayer funding of greyhound racing or “risk being left behind” with only four countries in the world allowing the practice.
However, government minister, Nick Duigan, rejected the call saying the greyhound racing industry was “an important economic driver” in regional Tasmania.
In an open letter to the Premier, Opposition leader and crossbench MPs, 12 community groups say New Zealand has shown “principled leadership” in announcing a phased ban of the greyhound racing industry.
“We respectfully beseech you to heed the evidence and public sentiment by reconsidering support for an industry that, on all available evidence, has outlived its purpose and irretrievably lost its social licence,” they wrote.
Dogs Home CEO Mark Wild said greyhound racing was now legal in just four countries, Australia, the UK, Ireland and the USA.
“New Zealand has recently taken a bold and principled step in banning greyhound racing, (and) recognizing unacceptable rates of injury and deaths among racing dogs here in Tasmania, the evidence is even more damning,” he said.
“As an organization dedicated to rehabilitating greyhounds, we witness first hand, the challenges that greyhounds face when they leave the racing industry, we see the wastage, the poor physical condition and the fragile mental state they often arrive in, and it’s devastating.
“The case to end greyhound racing is overwhelming and we urge the Tasmanian government to take humane and decisive action to transition away from this harmful industry, providing participants and funding organizations like ourselves to transition these dogs to their forever life.”
“Tasmania risks being left behind as the world moves away from greyhound racing.
“Continuing to fund a dying industry, both ethically and financially, makes no sense.”
The petition, sponsored by Hobart Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor, calls for an end date to greyhound racing and funding for a transition out of the industry.
Ms O’Connor said funding a transition plan was important “so industry participants can exit the industry with dignity and opportunity”.
“Every signature that goes on to this petition will be another message to the Rockliff government, a message to Labor that Tasmanians want the cruelty of greyhound racing to end,” she said.
“We have seen humane and courageous leadership from a conservative government in New Zealand. They’ve accepted the reality that this industry is irredeemably cruel.”
Mr Duigan said animal welfare was “really important” and the government had introduced legislation “to bolster our animal welfare outcomes”.
“There are a lot of passionate people who love their animals, who care for their animals, and they want to see this industry continue.”
Greg Irons, founder of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, said he was “ecstatic” at the New Zealand ban and some of the $37m that goes into racing each year could be used to transition out of greyhound racing.
He said 79 per cent of Tasmanians wanted taxpayer funding of greyhound racing to end and “we risk, embarrassingly, being the last country in the world to ban this”.
Dogs Home animal attendant Natalie Gerwin is hoping that greyhound Zac, who will be four next year, can be soon adopted.
“He’s been in foster care getting used to being a pet, and loved sleeping on the couch a lot of the time,” she said.
Originally published as Dogs Home of Tasmania wants Tasmania to follow NZ and phase out greyhound racing