Greyhound racing banned in shock decision: ‘Time to do the right thing’

Tuesday, 10 December 2024

Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced greyhound racing will be banned in New Zealand.

Legislation will be passed under urgency to prevent the unnecessary killing of racing dogs.

It will take 20 months to wind down the industry to enable the rehoming of racing dogs and a transition period.

Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced the Government’s plans to end greyhound racing in New Zealand.

“This is not a decision that is taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs,” the Minister said in an announcement at the Beehive on Tuesday afternoon.

The three-time racing minister and supporter of the racing industry has been considering the future of greyhound racing since early this year. Many anti-greyhound racing activists believed his love of racing meant the industry would survive, so the announcement is likely to come as a shock both to the industry and opponents alike.

Peters said the greyhound industry had been on notice over animal welfare concerns for several years. There have been three reviews into the industry over the past decade, all recommending significant changes.

A landmark 2017 report by former High Court Judge Rodney Hansen QC found high rates of injury and euthanasia, high numbers of “unaccounted for” dogs, and low re-homing numbers.

“Despite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high and the time has come to make a call in the best interest of the animals,” Peters said.

The Minister did look at whether stricter regulation would allow racing to continue safely, but “saw no evidence that injury rates would significantly decline,” saying injury rates have remained “persistently and stubbornly high”.

“The time has come to do the right thing. It’s a very significant day.”

He acknowledged the work done by Greyhound Racing NZ to make the industry safer, but considered too many animals were still being injured.

“Even with the improvements this is no longer publicly acceptable. Greyhound racing is an inherently risky sport.”

‘Devastating blow’ to industry

Greyhound Racing NZ chair Sean Hannan said the greyhound racing community was “left reeling” from the announcement, which he described as a “devastating blow” to an industry which had invested significantly in reforms.

“We are extremely disappointed that the Government has not recognised the work the industry has done to address areas of concern, to the extent that it now leads the wider racing industry with its commitment to animal welfare,” Hannan said.

Greyhound Racing NZ’s quarterly animal welfare progress report released in October showed 75 “major” injuries from August 1 - October 31 including two dogs euthanised due to injury in a race and one sudden death, an increase on the previous season it acknowledged was “disappointing”.

But it was adamant it had addressed the welfare concerns raised in previous industry reviews and was “operating at a level consistent with the expectations of a modern racing environment”.

The winding down of the industry will take place over a 20-month period to allow the re-homing of racing dogs and to provide a transition period for people involved in the industry.

The process of introducing new legislation under urgency will begin Tuesday with the introduction of the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill, “to prevent the unnecessary killing of racing dogs”.

It will mean no racing greyhound can be euthanised without the approval of a vet.

The legislation was necessary because, “We were alerted there could be serious abuse of dogs unless we got on top of it right here right now,” said Peters.

“A key task will be the re-homing of the estimated 2900 racing greyhounds in New Zealand,” he said.

An Advisory Committee has been appointed to help manage the transition process, chaired by former top advisor to the Helen Clark Government, Heather Simpson, along with committee members experienced public servant Murray Johnson, and vet and current chair of the New Zealand Veterinary Council, Lindsay Burton.

They will provide advice on ensuring animal welfare, and support for those involved in the industry.

“Keeping unwanted dogs safe is a priority,” Peters said. “The Government is working with animal welfare organisations such as the SPCA to establish programmes to support re-homing.”

SPCA: Best Christmas present ever

SPCA Chief Scientific Officer Arnja Dale said the announcement was “the best Christmas present ever”.

“The sport is inherently dangerous. It has had multiple reviews over the last 10 years. And whilst we appreciate the industry has made some improvements, it has completely lost its social licence.

“The injury rates are still too high. The deaths are unacceptable.”

Dale was confident the almost three thousand racing dogs could be successfully re-homed.

“Our priority is the dogs and we will work together to achieve this outcome.”

There are currently seven greyhound race clubs and six tracks around the country.

In 2023/24 there were about 390 race meetings and 4800 races, with greyhound racing accounting for 8.5% of the economic output of the racing industry and employing more than 1000 people.

New Zealand is one of only five countries where commercial greyhound racing is still permitted.

Further legislation will also be required to end the industry. A bill to make the necessary changes to the Racing Industry Act 2020 will be introduced to Parliament in 2025, Peters said.

There will be a full select committee process but there is political consensus for the ban, with support from Cabinet as well as cross-party support from Labour and the Green Party.

Peters said there were no similar plans for the horse racing industry.

Just two hours before the announcement, long time anti-greyhound racing activist Aaron Cross of the Greyhound Protection League spoke to Stuff despairing about the industry having learned that a high-profile trainer had been found to be re-homing dogs but “fudging the paperwork.

“We have no way of tracking what’s happening to dogs once they leave the racing industry. It’s very opaque.”

Asked what he thought the Minister would do in terms of a ban, he predicted the industry would survive.

“This is not a government that’s shown animal welfare is a priority. We always hope for the best. We’re prepared for the worst.”

Asked post-announcement what he thought, Cross said, “I’m pretty blown away.

“It does appear the industry’s run out of friends at a political level.”

He anticipated “a lot of push back from stakeholders and people in the industry. But I don’t think the industry can blame anyone but themselves.”