DEATH RENEWS CALLS FOR GREYHOUND RACING BAN
ANOTHER greyhound has died at the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club, the seventh dog racing death in Tasmania this year.
Action Plus ran his final race on August 26 before collapsing in his catching pen after the race and dying where he lay.
A blood sample was drawn from the corpse, but an on-site vet was unable to determine the cause of death. An autopsy is being done. The news came as a sad blow to Let Greyhounds Run Free activist Fran Chambers, who is a staunch opponent of the greyhound racing industry.
Ms Chambers said the blame lay partly with the industry and partly on the state government for “gutting” its industry watchdog, the Office of Racing Integrity.
“Twenty staff in total have gone, morale is at rock bottom, it’s dysfunctional, and it can’t do its welfare jobs,” she said.
“It’s a vile sport, it’s cruel, and no matter what they say about improving things, they’re not.”
Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds president Dennis Anderson said it was a cruel irony that Action Plus died on August 26 – International Dog Day.
“The loss of Action Plus reminds us that greyhounds lead harsh lives that often end in painful death,” he said.
RSPCA Tasmania chief executive Jan Davis said Action Plus died a “senseless death”. “It is clear that there are significant and entrenched animal -welfare problems inherent in the greyhound racing industry,” Ms Davis said.
The Hobart Greyhound Racing Club, Tas Racing and the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, which runs the Office of Racing Integrity, did not respond to requests for comment.