JULY 7, 2016: IT’S been heralded as monumental for animal welfare but local greyhound trainers are shattered by yesterday’s shock announcement to shut down the dog racing industry.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Local greyhound trainers are devastated and have a week to come to grips with the ban, which will come into force in July 2017, after all racing was suspended in the wake of the fallout.
It follows the release of a damning report, which revealed “widespread cruelty” and exposed an industry “not capable of reforming”.
“The industry should be fixed, not shut down,” NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association Gunnedah-based chairman Geoff Rose told The Leader.
“We’re either going to have a mass exit to other states or we’re going to see a lot of animals put down. How is the animal welfare going to be done now? I’ve got eight tracks and all the staff, they’re frightened of losing their jobs, they’re panicking and rightly so,” Mr Rose said.
The Special Commission of Inquiry report found that across the state over the last 12 years, “somewhere between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs were killed because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing.”
