One of many greyhound racing {industry}’s costliest efforts at legitimisation, rehoming packages for ex-racing canine, is being overwhelmed because the {industry} ramps up overbreeding, leaving volunteer non-industry rehoming providers to shoulder the burden of coping with the {industry}’s “wastage”.
A brand new report from the Coalition for Safety of Greyhounds collates knowledge from state greyhound racing our bodies to type a nationwide image of rehoming practices — which the {industry} dramatically ramped up after the publicity of systemic cruelty by 4 Corners, and detailed unbiased reviews of industrial-scale animal abuse throughout the sector.
Trade rehoming packages — normally known as “GAPs”, both Greyhound Adoption Applications or Greyhounds As Pets — are run by volunteers (who’re enthusiastic and hard-working) and function as non-profits, however obtain tens of millions of {dollars} from the {industry}. The NSW program price greater than $6 million in 2021-22 and the Victorian program practically $4.6 million. That translated into 301 canine being rehomed in NSW, at a value of $21,200 a canine. In Victoria slightly below 1,100 canine had been rehomed, at a value of simply over $4,000 every. In each states, these industry-funded packages have rehomed fewer canine than volunteer-run neighborhood packages, which obtain no funding and function on a stricter foundation of solely rehoming to homeowners able to assembly security and welfare standards.
The identical distinction applies in Tasmania, whereas in Queensland, GAP packages and neighborhood rehoming accounted for about the identical variety of canine. Solely in South Australia and Western Australia did a GAP outperform neighborhood rehoming — if it may be believed that in South Australia 489 canine had been rehomed by means of GAP packages, when NSW may barely handle 300. Western Australia has the strongest rehoming necessities and supplies for restoration, fairly than euthanasia, for canine that break limbs whereas racing, and its GAP considerably outperforms neighborhood efforts. WA stands in dire distinction to Queensland, which has no rehoming requirement of any form.
Whereas round 6,800 canine had been rehomed nationally in 2021-22 — together with GAP, neighborhood and direct breeder rehoming — there’s a rising disparity between rehoming and the variety of canine being bred by the {industry}. Whereas not but again to the numbers of canine being bred earlier than the abuses of the {industry} had been uncovered (which can have totalled over 17,000 canine a 12 months) breeding is now again to just about 10,000 a 12 months in keeping with {industry} registrations, not together with canine which might be bred however by no means registered for racing, which regulators recommend may very well be greater than 2,000 a 12 months.
Overbreeding, or “wastage” because the {industry} prefers to name it, is putting important stress on rehoming providers. The Victorian GAP is claimed by neighborhood organisations to inform breeders to take their “wastage” to a widely known neighborhood rehoming service, which operates with not one of the multi-million greenback assets accessible to industry-funded GAPs. With no important raise in rehoming efforts, the approaching surge of over 10,000 canine within the {industry} per 12 months won’t ever discover a life after racing. In the meantime governments proceed to prop the {industry} up with taxpayer handouts and light-touch regulation.
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