Q.  What is this racket called ‘Greyhound Racing?’

A.  Greyhound Racing is a bloodthirsty archaic so-called 'sport' whereby greyhounds are overbred in order to create the ultimate running machine.

Every year tens of thousands of greyhounds in Australia are exploited for profit in the name of entertainment and consequently sentenced to a brutal death. The racing itself is cruel as greyhounds are not built to run on oval tracks which leads to frequent painful injuries such torn muscles, ligaments, broken hocks and toes. Racing on the tracks is not only dangerous but on many occasions has also led to many fatalities such as broken necks and smashed up spines.  Pile-ups are also frequent.

 
Due to the long periods of kenneling and confinement, greyhounds have suffered from dehydration and heat stroke which has led to heart attacks. The training itself is grueling for the dogs and live bait such as cats, rabbits and chickens are often used to bloody the greyhounds and work them into a frenzy. There is evidence to suggest that some of the injured dogs are being injected with illegal drugs to cover injuries whilst others are being pumped with illegal performance enhancing drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines and anabolic steroids with a view to fixing races.

 
Once a greyhound has become surplus to racing requirements whether it’s a puppy that has failed the grade or a greyhound that is not fast enough they will share the same fate by being killed through various barbaric methods.

The only way to prevent the massive suffering and killing of Australian greyhounds caused by the greyhound racing industry is for greyhound racing to be abolished in Australia.

Ultimately to achieve greyhound liberation and to get greyhound racing banned, the Australian greyhound racing industry needs to be brought down.

For those welfarists that are undecided about the total abolition of greyhound racing in Australia, they need to understand that by sitting on the fence or negotiating and compromising with the racing industry, they are only prolonging the overall suffering through welfare measures and they are further perpetuating these animals exploitation.

To campaign for abolition will inevitably lead to the racing industry automatically bringing in improved welfare measures, as an attempt to be seen making an effort to clean up their act. The only difference is this will in no way compromise the campaign for total abolition of commercial dog racing.

Laws are not necessarily needed; in order to get dog racing banned in Australia. The greyhound racing industry is a customer based business and primarily dependant on public funding and support, the punters and betting. Target them financially and you guarantee the industries demise. By educating the public on the true face of greyhound racing and exposing the rife corruption and abuse will lead to the boycott of racing. This will have a knock effect as the tracks will close through lack of finances. This will also lead to fewer races which will mean less greyhounds bred and less greyhounds dead. This is what is happening already in the UK.

The Australian greyhound racing industry will be made accountable and brought to its knees for the atrocities they are committing against this beautiful and gentle breed.

Q.  Fox-hunting has been banned in England.  Is it only a matter of time before we are rid of greyhound racing too?

A.  Fox hunting and Hare coursing have both been banned in England. The British greyhound racing industry has severely declined through lack of financial support, as we continue to target them.

Q.  Here’s the million dollar question: What happens to the “surplus” dogs that are bred for racing and for several reasons don’t make it to the track?

A.  The surplus greyhounds are killed through various cruel and sick methods such as the recent horrific mutilations of the greyhounds in Hobart. Many greyhounds are 'disposed’ of by drowning, shooting, beating and some have been buried alive. Thousands of puppies that fail the grade are routinely murdered. Many dogs are abandoned with little hope of finding a home, even though greyhounds make wonderful companion animals.

Trainers and other callous individuals in the Australian greyhound racing industry are supplying an enormous number of ex racing greyhounds to universities, veterinary schools and vivisection laboratories for the purpose of experimentation and dissection. These helpless and frightened dogs are being repaid for their years of loyalty by being tortured through unnecessary and painful experiments and finally killed and dissected. The bodies of the dissected formaldehyde preserved greyhounds are lined up on their backs with their legs in the air next to one another on racks.

For evidence check out http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iaustralia.html

As if the Australian racing industry didn't have enough blood on their hands they are also exporting greyhounds for breeding and racing to Macau, Korea, Vietnam and Shanghai. Once they are no longer useful in Asia the majority of the greyhounds end up in the barbaric dog meat markets.

Q.  How does the greyhound industry answer that query?

A.  The sent us the following statement which sums up their position.

"Greyhounds Australasia” is not responsible for racing or welfare, our office if you
like, is the glue that brings all the authorities in Australia and NZ together.
We facilitate actions in relation to all facets of greyhound racing but
don't have any regulatory controls."

This begs the question who is responsible for greyhounds in Australia

Q.   Are track attendances dwindling in England?

A.  As more stadiums close down due to financial collapse, the attendance's at the remaining open tracks are noticeably down and many races are staged in nearly empty stadiums. The Gambling Bill introduced by the government will further pull on the industries purse strings, diverting more money away from greyhound racing.

Q.  How did South Africa get greyhound racing banned?

A.  In 1995 anti-racing campaigners lobbied the government. A committee was set up to look into both sides of the argument. The committee recommended that no form of dog racing amateur or professional be allowed and that the legislation should be vigorously enforced. Greyhound racing was banned.

In 2002 The United Greyhound Racing and Breeders Society tried to appeal at the Supreme court in Blomefontein. The court upheld its previous decision by citing that in the eyes of the law greyhound racing was recognised as a cruel sport and will remain banned.

Q.  How does Greyhound Action International campaign the punters?

A.  We try and persuade them to boycott greyhound racing by holding regular demos outside greyhound stadiums, bookies and anywhere else that racing may be promoted or sponsored. This usually gets media coverage. We hand out leaflets and talk to the punters/public as the majority are horrified at the cruelty inflicted on the dogs. They don't realise that there are bins full of dead dogs piling up at the back of the stadium, whilst they are sitting there watching the races and having their lunch. We get the message across that' YOU BET, THEY DIE'

Q.   Are betting shops lobbied?

A.  Yes, and this year we are launching a further campaign to persuade the six major bookmakers, including Ladbrokes and William Hill, which own a total of six tracks in England, to switch entirely to computer-generated "virtual" dog-racing. This will cut the supply of money going into the industry and there will less demand for new dogs to be bred. It will also reduce the bookmakers' overheads. The afternoon punters don't mind what they bet on, if it's not one thing it's another.

Q.   What about the targeting of the root problem - the breeders?

A.  We do target breeders, by ensuring that they go out of business.

Q.   Should a NGO be formed to track what happens to retired greyhounds?

A.  Definitely, as this will highlight the extent of the number of dogs 'disposed' or 'missing' every year in Australia. This will further contribute to the collapse of the greyhound racing industry.

Q.  Where do they go to?

A.  We estimate that the Australian greyhound racing industry is responsible for the deaths of as many as 20,000 greyhounds every year. As I mentioned previously many are murdered, a large number end up being passed on to universities, vet schools and vivisection labs to be cut open and eventually dissected. A further percentage of greyhounds end up being exported to Asia where they end up tortured and killed in the dog meat markets.

The Australian greyhound industry don't keep records of greyhounds killed, for the obvious reason that there would be outrage if these figures ever got made public.
The best we can do, is to arrive at some sort of estimate from other figures issued by the industries ruling body Greyhounds Australasia Ltd,
Greyhounds named = 12,875, litters whelped = 3,040.This means that, there were 3,040 litters of greyhounds born.
It is generally accepted that, on average, greyhounds have 8 pups per litter.
Thus, from 3,040 litters, there should be about 24,320 pups.
"Greyhounds named" means greyhound pups registered by the racing industry (when they are given a racing name).
12,875 were named, so what has happened to the remaining 11,445?

What the situation looks like, is that over 24,000 greyhound pups are born every year in Australia. Less than 13,000 of these are actually registered, meaning that almost 12,000 "go missing". It seems that the Australian greyhound breeders are killing thousands of pups they think will fail to come up to racing standards. In Britain the average number of pups registered per litter by the greyhound racing industry is about 6, so why is only just over 4 in Australia (and less than 3.5 in some states)?

Q.  Are Australian breeders that bit more ruthless than their British counterparts?

A.  The total number of greyhounds registered yearly in Australia is 12,875.
If 12,875 greyhounds are registered every year, a similar number will become "surplus to requirements" of the racing industry in the same period, seeing as the industry is not expanding.

A small percentage of these dogs will be kept by "owners"/trainers and some will be found homes by the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), which exists only in a few states, but the vast majority will end up being put to death.

Q.   GAI has been particularly active in greyhounds being shipped overseas to Asia.  What’s going on there?

A.  Australian greyhounds are being exported from Australia to countries in Asia, where there are no animal welfare laws and no hope or opportunity to rehome greyhounds that have become surplus to racing requirements. The final destination for Australian greyhounds in Asia so far has been the dog meat markets, murdered and dumped in landfills, or used in live feeding to other animals in a Wild Animal Park in China.

Greyhound Australasia which is the ruling body of Australian racing claim that they are happy with the provisions in place regarding Australian greyhounds in Asia in places such as Macau, Korea, Vietnam and Shanghai. Yet there are no provisions in place especially for the after care of Australian greyhounds in these places. Recently the media highlighted Shanghai Wild Animal Park where greyhound racing in underway. The existing animals that live in the park are already suffering cruelty and abuse, as live feeding of one terrified animal to another is seen as a tourist attraction.

For anyone who wants to get involved in stopping the export of greyhounds to Asia campaign check out www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iaustraliaintro.html

Q. The greyhound issue stands out for all its scandal, hate-mail, and undercover information that gets provided from people in the know, but who won’t go to court over it for fear of making waves.  GAI are really shaking things up over here.  What do you attribute this to?

A. The very foundations of the Australian greyhound racing industry has been built on suffering and exploitation. As awareness and support for the greyhounds is gradually growing, the industry are becoming more vulnerable. It's people power that will bring down the racing industry.

Q.  Greyhounds are the number one dogs going to research laboratories to be experimented on after they are ‘retired.’  What kind of betrayal of trust is that Raven?

A.  It’s the ultimate betrayal of trust. These dogs have run the hearts out for these ruthless mercenaries and given them years of loyalty and no doubt made them money. This how they repay them by sending them to be tortured and mutilated.

Q.   How can we help you in Australia?

A.  You can help us in the following ways:

1. Contact us at Greyhound Action Australasia via email at: greyhoundactionaustralasia@hotmail.com and become a volunteer for GAA. We will send you leaflets and petitions and help you organise campaigns in your area/state.

2. Find out the nearest track to you and organise demos outside it. Remember the general public going into the stadium won't know the truth about greyhound racing, so they need to enlightened on the true facts

3. Contact the media, newspapers, radio and TV, publicity is very important. Even if it's getting a protest letter published in the national newspapers.

4. Try and get people that are in the limelight to support our campaigns and speak up about the plight of Australian greyhounds. They could be musician, politicians, models, anyone that has the media's attention.

5. If you know of any breeders in your area target them and get them closed down. Expose the plight of greyhounds to the public in that area, highlighting the fact that the breeders are at the root of it.

6. If you know of anyone abusing any greyhounds, or have any info on the greyhound racing industry contact us or the Abolitionist-Online immediately.

7. If you are in a position to offer a greyhound a loving home then contact the local pounds/greyhound rescue groups. There are thousands of greyhounds desperate for someone to care for them. They are docile and affectionate and have the same needs as any other dog.

8. Check out our website:  www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iaustraliaintro.html  provides a list of vet schools, universities & institution and urge them to stop experimenting and dissecting animals.
   
   Direct them to: www.LearningWithoutKilling.info
   
   Additionally write to the racing authorities and racing ministers urging them to stop making excuses and put an end to the donating, selling or passing on of greyhounds to vivisection laboratories/universities and any other establishments that experiment on animals. (see our MailBag section in this issue)

9. Protest outside these establishments.
   
   DO NOT THROW MONEY AWAY BY SUPPORTING CHARITIES WHICH FUND ANIMAL-BASED MEDICAL RESEARCH.

10. If you are a student and don't want to take part in cruel and unnecessary experiments contact us at greyhoundactionaustralasia@hotmail.com or become part of Andrew Knights "Learning Without Killing" campaign

11. Contact Warren Truss minister for live export and the racing ministers and urge them to ban the export of greyhounds to Asia. Full list of contact details can be found at www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iaustraliaintro.html

12. Please make a donation by clicking on the link https://www.paypal.com If you don't already have a paypal account, you can sign up for free to make a donation. All the money will go directly towards campaigning.

Thank you for caring and helping the greyhounds

Greyhound Action Australasia
www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iaustraliaintro.html

Email:greyhoundactionaustralasia@hotmail.com