It was commendable to hear Winston Peters state that he was "utterly opposed" to animal cruelty when referring to a potential ban on greyhound racing. He is also concerned about euthanasia of greyhounds.
Sadly, the worst already happened because of political decisions to turn a blind eye to dog racing over many decades. We must do things differently.
All dogs love to run and race each other — not just greyhounds. To them, it’s play, and running with others is a special delight, as my five foxie-crosses can attest. You’ll see the same in any dog park.
Running in circles on barren tracks is as far from running in the wild as is possible. No greyhound is in the wild. They’re bred in industrial-scale camps, living among dozens or hundreds of other kennelled/caged dogs, and brought out to perform for money.
Dogs do not benefit from racing, which is no different from other animal circuses when you think about it. Raced greyhounds live lives of excessive confinement and boredom. They chew and lick the wood in the kennels, and Greyhound Racing NZ issues warnings about high urinary arsenic levels showing up in their systems, and suggest that as a probable cause. (Arsenic is also said to improve performance.)
Greyhounds travel huge distances every week, summer and winter, without much space, in low-slung trailers or caged in vans. Some travel between the North and South Islands, so the trips take days, stopping overnight, mostly sleeping in the trailers. This is not a good life.
After long travel to the tracks, they’re toileted on lead and put into track kennels for three hours prior to each race, confined yet again: no wonder they’re keen to stretch their legs and run when they get out.
There is no warm-up to reduce injuries and the industry and politicians have never done anything about that.
After their race, dogs wait in the trailer for the other dogs. Eventually it’s back on the road for more hours, more days and more overnight stops in the trailers.
The industry itself is building a new animal welfare disaster while racing and breeding continues. Dogs increasingly languish in trainer’s kennels and packed re-homing facilities.
In a recent podcast on The Greyhound Girl, trainer Emma Cole of the highest-winning Cole kennels admitted breeding any dog that came in season.
Only now are they becoming more "selective" — down to around 18 breeding bitches — because the wait list for re-homing charity Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) is so long thanks to the continuous supply of new dogs.
MPs could look at race reports following each race day to see the injury list, rather than look at dogs running. Races may look unremarkable, and the dogs look keen, but the evidence for pain and suffering is written there in the description of being dragged down, run into the back of and falling at the lure, even if there are no injuries detected immediately afterwards.
Two greyhounds were scraped off the track dead in the last few weeks. Two more dogs fractured hocks on a recent Friday night at Addington.
Being utterly opposed to animal cruelty means making a political decision to put an end to an industry that continues to fail dogs, and helping to get them into loving, forever homes. Some are already being exported to the United States for re-homing, which will alleviate Mr Peters’ fears over euthanasia.
Once it is banned, the New Zealand public will step forward to support the dogs and the ban. Animal lovers opposed to cruelty will stand with you, Mr Peters.
And remember, dogs also love chocolate.
- Lynn Charlton is an animal rights advocate.
