It’s not like our MPs do not have any regard for our furry, feathered and scaled companions - the dog control laws are about to be rewritten, animal welfare laws are regularly considered by the House, and during this term pet bonds were introduced for rental properties.
And so they should - given that a few thousand racing dogs are shortly to be surplus to requirements when the Bill does what it says on the tin and shuts down greyhound racing in this country.
MPs know that closing the sport down leaves all those pooches in peril - let alone the 1054 people the sport’s governing body estimates are directly employed in greyhound racing - hence in their second-reading speeches on Tuesday seemed to be doing their best to fix a looming problem of their own making.
‘‘I’ve got no doubt, because they’re such warm, loving, quirky, lazy dogs, that people will still wish to have them as pets,’’ Labour’s Rachel Boyack told the House.
‘‘People will be able to breed them for the purpose of their being pets in New Zealand.’’
Later her Labour companion Jo Luxton waxed lyrical about party senior MP Kieran McAnulty’s greyhound Zoi, an animal whose intelligence she might have made some unfavourable reference to at first reading.
‘‘But I will compensate and make up for that by saying that she is a wonderful, lovely, fun, friendly dog and a perfect pet - just like any other greyhound would be - for a loving, welcoming home.’’
Taieri Green list MP Scott Willis signed himself to the Zoi fan club as well.
‘‘I know that Kieran McAnulty has got that crazy animal up on the floor,’’ he said.
‘‘I quite like greyhounds, despite their small heads, but they are creatures that sometimes do show a bit of spirit, and I think there’s a lot of space for people who want to have an animal that is fun to have around.’’
When Willis says that there is a lot of space available he is not wrong.
In 2024-25 a record 697 former racing greyhounds were rehomed, but when the racing ban comes into effect - August 1, unless Parliament surprises everyone and changes its mind - there will be between 2000 and 3000 dogs looking for somewhere to call home.
‘‘Greyhounds are gentle, loving animals,’’ Willis added.
‘‘The greyhound that I’m most familiar with - Lily - is a gentle, loving animal. She is also not very bright and incredibly lazy, but charming with all that.’’
He said that the Greens had always opposed dog racing on animal welfare grounds but that the party was well aware, through some powerful submissions during the select committee process, that issues of both animal and human welfare were in play here.
‘‘What it’s doing is making sure that we do things in a structured and good process. It’s enabling the transition to work because there’ll be a structured wind-down of racing operations, and that’s what I particularly like: the responsible rehoming of greyhounds like Lily to places where they’ll be cared for ... I do thank the Primary Production Committee for all its work on this because it’s balancing welfare priorities with fairness to workers and industry participants.’’
That committee recently voted in a new chairman, Waitaki National MP Miles Anderson, and he noted that this had not been an easy Bill to deliberate on.
‘‘I especially want to thank all those who put forward written submissions, and I particularly want to thank those who came in and presented to the select committee. I really am grateful that they did that. We did hear them, and we heard a lot of people who had their hearts on their sleeves and, certainly, were very distressed.’’
They did indeed, and the passions were equally split for and against.
Teary dog lovers describing horrific racing injuries and deaths, and they were pitted against greyhound trainers and owners sobbing because their way of life, income and animals which they deeply love were in peril.
Anderson may have fumbled his words at this point, but he was trying to capture the essence of what had been an emotional process for all involved.
‘‘There’s nothing to celebrate in the passing of this Bill. There are many people whose livelihoods will be lost, and what I’m most concerned about in this Bill are these people,’’ he said.
‘‘Not only are they losing their livelihoods, but in many cases, they’re also losing their companions. That’s the greyhounds that are going to be rehomed and have to be rehomed because they won’t be able to afford to keep them.’’
A range of amendments intended to make that transition somewhat smoother are due to be considered next week, when the House is scheduled to consider all remaining stages of the Bill.
That will likely include adding another racing industry representative to the transition agency to be appointed to manage the wind-down of racing to ensure that the humans left behind are adequately considered.
Another amendment may prove more controversial.
The government intends to make it clear that the TAB can continue to take bets on overseas dog races - something which critics have labelled as hypocritical when the local industry is being forced to close.
Racing Minister Winston Peters defended that on Tuesday, saying that the government had always intended that closure of the industry would be funded by the racing industry itself, not taxpayers, and that profits from such wagering would be put to that purpose.
Then, he too, put in a plug for adopting a dog.
‘‘As this Bill moves towards its next stage in the House, those listening today are urged to not wait until 1 August to consider adopting a greyhound. We are saying, adopt today; you’ll never regret it.’’
With that, Parliament let this sleeping dog lie until next week.
