10 reasons why greyhound racing had to go
As the state steps forward to respond to the NSW government’s decision to shut down greyhound racing Mike Baird took to Facebook on July 9, to write an extended post to spell out to his detractors the thinking behind the decision. The following is an extr
THE decision to ban greyhound racing has obviously generated a lot of discussion and questions. And I’ve been listening. I’ve read many of the 10,000+ Facebook comments and other coverage in the media and I’d like to take a minute to respond to some of the questions. I particularly want to address some of the myths around this decision.
So, here are the top 10 things that just aren’t true about the shut down of greyhound racing on July 1, next year. This has been a tough decision, but a considered one. 1. You are punishing many for the crimes of a few.
Unfortunately, the report of the Special Commission is very clear that these practices were systemic - for too long, too many people who knew what was going on didn’t do enough to reform greyhound racing. It is also very clear that the industry has had many chances to reform but has failed to do so. In fact, intentional deception and illegal activity was rife. However, as I said in my original Facebook post, I feel very strong empathy for those who are caught up in this who have not done anything wrong. They should feel deep anger towards others in their industry who have brought us to this place. These changes will have a big impact on some communities. This brings me no joy whatsoever. We are preparing a considered transition package to be announced in coming months after further consultation with the industry because we want to help as many as we can as we shut down this industry in an orderly way. 2. This is a land grab for developers. Wentworth Park is going to be sold off.
No, it’s not. Let me state this as clearly as possible: we will not be developing any tracks on Crown Land into residential or high rise. Something to clarify here: the government owns about half of the tracks, but not all of them. We don’t have any say over who the privately owned tracks get sold to. But, for the government owned sites - including Wentworth Park - I can’t be any clearer. They will be used for community space. We will consult with the community about what this looks like, but it may include open space or sports facilities or even things like schools if appropriate. This will be decided in consultation with the relevant communities. 3. All these greyhounds are now going to die. These changes are actually worse for them.
There is absolutely a huge challenge here. We are working very closely with the RSPCA and their partners to rehome as many dogs as possible and our strong preference is for dogs to remain with their current owners or be adopted into homes. One of the reasons we have given till July next year for the industry to close is so we can work out the best possible way to care for as many as dogs as possible. But experts have advised us it won’t be possible to re-house all of them and many may be put down. To avoid that, I’m open to any approach to save as many dogs as we can. But the report is very clear - tens of thousands of dogs are being systematically killed, often in inhumane ways, simply for not being fast enough. This would continue, and thousands of dogs each and every year would continue to die if we had not made this decision. Whatever loss of life regrettably comes as a result of the shutdown is a small fraction of what would happen if the industry continued. 4. This is a hastily made decision and there has been no consultation.
The opposite is true. When the Four Corners story on this emerged over a year ago, our response was not to make immediate decisions. It was to undertake a very detailed inquiry, overseen by a former High Court Judge. That inquiry has taken over a year and had the powers of a Royal Commission. It received 2000 submissions and held private and public hearings. It has been in-depth. It has been comprehensive. There was nothing hasty about it, or this decision. If you read the report for yourself, you will see that the Government had little choice but to take this course of action. 5. The Government is hypocritical and will still take money from people in NSW gambling on dog racing in other states.
As you can imagine, the licence agreements with the TAB and the racing industry are quite complex and we need to do some work to figure out how we unwind some of these agreements. But let me be clear: we don’t want to, and won’t, be profiting from poor animal welfare practices. We don’t want to curtail your right to punt. But we also don’t want the government to profit from practices like the ones we have seen outlined in this review. We will have more to say on the specifics of this in the coming months. 6. This Government just wants to ban everything.
I’m a big advocate of small government that keeps out of your way. But that doesn’t mean government stands back and allows cruelty to animals on a widespread scale. I understand why some people feel like they are being over-governed when we introduce more laws - particularly if it is a law you don’t like. Creating extra restrictions brings me no joy. But neither does the death of thousands of dogs a year. My instinct on this, before the Inquiry’s report was handed down, was that we would find a way to reform this industry. But then I read the report. I didn’t need to read it twice. We are intervening here because we have to. 7. The industry was already reforming and on its way to a better future.
Although there had been some progress made, the Inquiry found that the industry has had many years to reform and failed to do so. In fact, even after the Four Corners investigation and with the full knowledge that we had ordered an inquiry, the report found trainers were STILL using live baiting and flouting the rules. It saddens me that there are many in the industry who wanted to do the right thing and have been let down by others. But the
We are working very closely with the RSPCA and their partners to rehome as many dogs as possible and our strong preference is for dogs to remain with their current owners or be adopted into homes.
idea that the industry just needed better regulation and another chance was not borne out in the Inquiry. If you doubt this, please read the report for yourself. 8. A total shut-down is an over-reaction. You should have just given more oversight.
The Special Commission suggested that, if Parliament were to attempt more regulation, 79 different recommendations would need to be taken into account. But it said that, even then, it was highly doubtful the industry was capable of reform. The culture of deception and mistreatment of dogs just ran too deep. Better regulation had been attempted, and failed, many times over. The Commission also found that the reforms required would have made the entire industry economically unsustainable. The sad reality is, further regulation simply isn’t a viable option. 9. If you really cared about puppies you’d shut down puppy farms.
We recently announced our response to a review into puppy farms and other issues relating to domestic pet breeding and sales. It’s a very complicated issue that we remain determined to get much better results with. We continue to work closely with the RSPCA and other stakeholders to try and get better outcomes here. As a dog owner, I share everyones concern about puppy welfare and our government remains committed to big improvements in this area. 10. The review said this should go to Parliament. Why isn’t it?
It is. The Government will present legislation to shut down greyhound racing during the next sitting period and Parliament will indeed consider and debate our proposal. At that point, all MPS can have their say. If they want to oppose this change, they can explain their reasons for that to the community at that time. We expect the legislation to pass because we believe anyone who reads this report will see there is no workable alternative option.
Finally, thanks to everyone for your feedback and questions. Please let me urge you to go and read the review. It is horrific. It is damning. And it leaves the Government with no real choice but to take the action we have. You can read the report at http://www.greyhoundracinginquiry.justice.nsw.gov.au Thanks for reading. Mike