New England is set to become a central point for greyhound adoption thanks to a program expansion from the sport's governing body.
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Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) has announced it will expand its Greyhound As Pets (GAP) program into six new regional centres, including the New England.
The move comes after recent Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) statistics revealed more than 2000 dogs had been rehomed in the last seven months.
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GRNSW chief executive officer Tony Mestrov said the expansion was a prime example of the industry's progress.
"The industry is on track to exceed all rehoming targets set out in the GRNSW 2018-2021 strategic plan, which is the culmination of the industry's turnaround over the past few years," Mestrov said.
"The latest figures are exceptional, and clearly show the rehoming initiatives and programs are working.
"In the past seven months, we have seen reported figures from GWIC of 2,085 greyhounds rehomed after leaving the industry.
"Since July 1, a total of 816 greyhounds have been rehomed through their owners, which in part can be attributed to the improvements in our Owners' Incentive Scheme.
"Meanwhile, 1,269 dogs have been rehomed to a third party outside the industry, either via their owners, or through (GAP) and similar rehoming organisations."
Long-time Manilla greyhound rescuer Jodi Green welcomed news of expansion, but said she believed the industry could do more to help rehome retired greyhounds.
"In my opinion, of the 1,269 dogs that have been rehomed since July 1, most of them would have been done by third party operators like myself," Green told the Leader.
"I think a big reason for that is because GAP conducts intake assessments, which rule out a lot of dogs from being rehomed through that program.
"While expansion is great, I would like to see a bit more done to allow dogs to find a new home through the GAP, as opposed to people like me."
Details regarding the expansion are yet to be ironed out, but Green said she would be eager to get involved.
"I know when they expanded into the Northern Rivers region last year they were looking for a regional co-ordinator," she said.
"I'm still not too sure exactly what all of this expansion will look like, but if a role like that were to come up, I'd certainly throw my hat in the ring.
"I personally believe GRNSW have the resources to operate their rehoming programs a lot better, and if there's any way I can help make that happen I'll do it."