GREYHOUND INDUSTRY STILL BEHIND SAD TAILS
GOLD Coast rescue groups are continuing to see hundreds of greyhounds abandoned each year – many with untreated injuries.
Two years after a live baiting scandal rocked the greyhound racing industry, Friends of the Hound founder Lisa White said it was “business as usual” for breeders.
“There’s still the same amount of calls, the same amount of dogs coming through the program,” Ms White said. “They’re bred to turn a profit. “It’s just never ending, how’s that ever going to change?” Ms White said the Murwillumbah-based rescue group had a continuous list of about 80 greyhounds waiting for adoption, with up to 60 greyhounds in foster homes at any one time. The group recently took custody of a three-year-old greyhound called Jade who arrived with a 12-month-old fracture which had not been treated, causing her bones to fuse together with a “permanent twist.”
It is a similar story at the Animal Welfare League, which recently took in a litter of greyhound puppies, one of which had a broken leg.
A spokesperson for the AWLQ said a woman surrendered the group of puppies after she rescued a female exracing greyhound that turned out to be pregnant.
There is no suggestion the woman failed to provide adequate care for the puppy.
AWLQ foster carer Belinda Williams has been caring for the injured puppy, since named Blaze.
Ms Williams has been taking the 10-week-old for walks in a pram so he can see the outside world despite his fracture and vaccination schedule.
She said people loved to stop and pat him and he was happy to watch the world go past.
“He just sat there, so every day we would go out for a walk,” she said.
Blaze will be available for adoption soon at the AWLQ.
A request sent to the Queensland Racing Integrity Unit for comment was not returned by deadline.