Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club receives $1.6m for new kennels the day after dog’s death

A government funding pool for the greyhound racing industry will continue for four more years despite claims “the majority of taxpayers” want the racing stopped.

Wendouree MP Juliana Addison, BGRC manager Jodie Faralla, Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, and Ripon MP Martha Haylett at the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club. Photo: Greyhound Racing Victoria

Labor MPs attended a Ballarat greyhound racing club to announce $1.6m of funding to “set a new standard for greyhound care” the day after a young dog died there and without evidence the money would improve on-track conditions.

Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, Wendouree MP Juliana Addison, and Ripon MP Martha Haylett, along with representatives from Ballarat City Council, were at Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club in early May to promote the forthcoming construction of a kennel building worth $3.3m, half of which is state-funded.

Thirteen greyhounds have now died and more than 4000 have been injured across the state this year.

There have been 52 on-track deaths nationwide.

In a statement, Mr Carbines said the project would “set a new standard for greyhound care in Victoria”.

But it was less than 24 hours prior that a nearly two-year-old greyhound named Our Ruby was driven to death.

She “collapsed in the catching pen” from a suspected heart attack following an eight-dog race in which she placed last.

Our Ruby ran three races in nine days and was the second greyhound death on Victorian tracks in a single week.

BGRC president Craig Fletcher, Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, Wendouree MP Juliana Addison, Ripon MP Martha Haylett, City of Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson, and Adrian Matherson from CIQ Construction. Photo: Greyhound Racing Victoria

Questions were put to Mr Carbines about whether money provided through the state’s dedicated fund has been or would be used to improve racing conditions for dogs, such as making the tracks straight rather than circular to decrease congestion and the risk of injury.

Despite Mr Carbines saying that the new kennels would prioritise animal welfare, it is not clear how they would reduce physical injuries or deaths on the racetrack itself.

A government spokeswoman later said similarly that animal welfare was the government's “highest priority in the racing sector”, but made no comment as to how that could be the case given the inherent risks of the industry.

(In the race shown above, greyhound Hello Lynda was injured and then killed in Shepparton on May 8.)

The government spokeswoman said the Victorian Racing Industry Fund would continue for another four years, with projects that improve animal welfare – which could include applications for track redesigns – to be prioritised.

“We’ll continue to work with Greyhound Racing Victoria – and the wider industry – to ensure all participants understand their collective duty and responsibility to treat all greyhounds with care and respect,” she said.

Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds director Joanne Lee said the “ongoing brutalisation” of greyhounds had to end.

“In the last financial year the Andrews Government gave $17m to greyhound racing, but the result was Australia’s most lethal state for greyhounds. How is this justifiable?”

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said “no dog should be subject to this cruelty that the majority of taxpayers want ended”.

“If dogs are lucky to make it out alive, they have a slim chance at finding a home, which results in dangerous practices including euthanasia,” she said.

There were 227 known greyhound deaths on Australian racetracks in 2022, and nearly 80 in Victoria, making it the deadliest state for the racing dogs.

In Ballarat, five dogs died in both 2022 and 2021, and 11 died in 2020.

Mr Carbines did not answer the question about taxpayers’ preferences or outline the general justification for government funding of greyhound racing, but said in his initial Ballarat announcement that the industry was worth more than $640m for the state’s economy – or about $8m per deceased dog.

Greyhound Racing Victoria Chair Peita Duncan said that the new Ballarat kennels demonstrated the organisation’s “unwavering commitment to providing the highest standard of facilities at our racetracks, ensuring comfort and safety for all participants, staff, and of course our athletes, the greyhounds.”

Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club General Manager Jodie Faralla said the kennels would “provide an extra layer of care and comfort for every greyhound”.

“ … At the moment, many people would be unaware of the careful work and planning the

club puts into ensuring animal welfare,” she said.

“We work hard to ensure every greyhound is well looked after while on track.”

The stake money on Our Ruby’s last race was $3000.