NSW government to end greyhound racing by 2017
The NSW government has announced it will end greyhound racing in the state in 2017.
Premier Mike Baird made the announcement Thursday on his Facebook page following a special commission into the industry practices that found brutal and cruel treatment of animals involved.
"In response to widespread illegal and unconscionable activity, including the slaughtering of tens of thousands of dogs, I can today announce that NSW is putting an end to greyhound racing," Mr Baird wrote.
"More than a year ago, we established a Special Commission of Inquiry into the greyhound industry after very disturbing reports emerged of cruelty to animals and other illegal activities."
The premier pointed to the "mass killings of greyhounds, which the special commission estimated was "somewhere between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs" over the past 12 years because they were "considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing".
In addition to tens of thousands of dogs killed was the practice of live baiting where rabbits were used to blood dogs in training.
"The report found that, even though this is already illegal and carries heavy penalties, 'a trainer, who admitted to engaging in live baiting, testified that about 10-20% of trainers engaged in live baiting,'" Mr Baird wrote, quoting the report.
Based on the commission's findings, the premier declared the industry was not capable of reforming "in the short or medium term".
Mr Baird wrote how the report also acknowledged the impact on the 1000 direct jobs in the industry and the 6000 registered trainers and how "racing can be an important part of the social fabric of regional towns", but said the protracted violence outweighed these factors.
NSW will be the first state in Australia to ban the sport, but Mr Baird said that puts his state in league with a number of US states and eight countries where it has been outlawed.
The Special Commission was headed by former High Court Judge Michael McHugh, and formed following a 4 Corners investigation into the industry that exposed inherent violence.
Mr Baird added he was empathetic for those the ban would hurt and support would be offered to those workers set to lose their jobs but said "we simply cannot and will not stand-by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals".
News break – July 7
