Bait risks ban phones

Ride of his life: Matt Archibald in action during yesterday’s 1km time trial and, inset, with his world champs bronze medal. AS Australian greyhound racing recovers from its live baiting scandal, it has been revealed similar claims in New Zealand led to a mobile phone ban on tracks here.

Kiwi greyhound officials banned the use of cellphones on raceday after allegations a trainer who faced charges in the early 2000s involving live bait had conditioned his dogs to chase harder by associating special ring tones with a live kill.

The Australian scandal involves trainers being filmed using live rabbits, piglets and possums as bait. But at a formal hearing held by the New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association, it was claimed that the trainer had used live bait, while playing a ring tone on his phone.

On raceday the dog’s handler carried a mobile phone in his pocket and just before the dog was loaded into its starting box, a call was placed to the person, so the animal heard the same ring tone, resulting in it becoming excited at the thought of what was to come.

The hearing found the trainer not guilty after inconclusive evidence given by the youthful informant under cross examination, said New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association chairman John McArthur.

‘‘That’s the only allegation we’ve had of anything involving live kills,’’ McArthur said. ‘‘And in response to that case we banned the use of cell phones.’’

As recently as February, 2012, handlers were reminded that it was forbidden to have cellphones switched on at race meetings during the parading of dogs or when they were anywhere on the racetrack.

McArthur said while it had been rumoured the practice of giving greyhounds live kills at home to make them chase the lure harder on raceday was widespread here, he had been told of only one conviction in the late 1960s.

McArthur said he was as shocked as anyone about the ABC’s Four Corners documentary which aired on television last week. More than 100 greyhounds have since been seized by Queensland officials and more than 40 people nationwide have been sus- pended, including some of the code’s leading trainers like Darren McDonald, whose dogs have been stood down from racing.

That decision caused an uproar when Victorian officials withdrew two of McDonald’s dogs, Awesome Prospect and Zipping Willow, from the A$145,000 Group I Temlee at The Meadows last night.

However, they were forced to reinstate them when their owners threatened to get a Supreme Court injunction to have the meeting stopped.

A number of sponsors have already pulled their money.

McArthur said his association

Photos: Getty Images Shamed: The greyhound racing industry is under scrutiny after an investigation that revealed trainers and owners across Australia allegedly using the illegal training method of live baiting to improve a dog’s performance. was acting to ensure no dogs from trainers deregistered in Australia were imported to New Zealand.

He suspected Australian trainers had been able to get away with the practice because many could train their animals on private tracks, facilities which were discouraged here, he said.

And under the Australian system of dogs simply running into a pen at the end of their races, they had no reward for running right to the line, unlike in New Zealand where dogs are allowed to attack the artificial lure.

‘‘We persuaded two states to try out our system but they’ve reverted to catching pens.’’

McArthur said there had been a suspicion live kills were going on here ‘‘but in 2013 we made it clear that anyone caught doing it would face a lifetime ban.’’

McArthur said he believed licenceholders had taken the warning on board.

‘‘While I wouldn’t put my hand on a stack of bibles and say it’s not happening at all, I’d be very surprised.’’

Trainers had upped their game, realising they could be raided at any time.

Racing Integrity Unit staff made 113 visits to kennels around the country in 2014 without uncovering any evidence of small animals being kept for live kills.

McArthur was not aware of claims made on an internet chat site that the SPCA had been contacted more recently about live chickens being towed behind cars at Kariotahi beach, south Auckland, so greyhounds could have live kills.

The association had set an animal welfare standard far higher than most other jurisdictions around the world, McArthur said.