Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's no secret that the greyhound racing industry results in animal suffering and unbearable cruelty, which is I've long campaigned to ban greyhound racing within Australia—and I'm not alone. My office has been constantly contacted by members of the community who share my disgust with this industry and its abhorrent treatment of dogs throughout the country. The recent drone footage of a Tasmanian trainer's property showing inadequate shelter for dogs and dead animal carcasses is especially distressing, but, sadly, it's nothing we haven't seen before or after.

Between 2020 and 2022 there were over 30,000 documented injuries and over 600 reported deaths of greyhounds due to track racing, and this is not to mention the unreported deaths, including thousands of puppies every year. Moreover, according to the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, this year in Australia there have been 73 recorded track deaths and 6,591 track injuries. In Tasmania there have been five reported greyhound deaths and 187 injuries.

The fact that Australia is only one of seven countries where greyhound racing is still legal is telling, as is the fact that, even among the six other countries allowing racing, the popularity of greyhound racing is diminishing. Indeed, Australia has the largest commercial greyhound racing industry in the world, with approximately 64 tracks as of 2022 compared to 22 tracks in the United Kingdom, 17 tracks in Ireland and fewer than 10 tracks between New Zealand, the United States, Mexico and Vietnam. In fact, in the US, greyhound racing is now illegal in at least 42 states, with only two active greyhound racetracks remaining.

The department of agriculture statistics show that 331 greyhounds were exported from Australia between January and June 2023. The lack of an international tracing system makes it impossible to know where the exported dogs ended up, which is even more alarming when we consider that there are so many loopholes that can be exploited to allow greyhounds to end up in countries without adequate animal welfare protections. These include animals being sent through approved countries to blacklisted countries or being incorrectly listed as companion animals.

Thankfully, there is a bill currently before the Australian Senate that would ban the export and import of greyhounds for racing, breeding and other commercial purposes. This is a key step towards limiting the cruelty Australian greyhounds face overseas, where they are at high risk of mistreatment and early death, and warrants the support of the parliament. I have made a submission detailing my own support for this bill, though I stand by my long-held belief that the only way to actually ensure the safety of greyhounds is to ban the practice entirely. Frankly, there is simply no conceivable way to conduct races in a way that adequately meets animal welfare standards.

It is a blight on our country that, while the ACT banned greyhound racing in April 2018, all other jurisdictions have failed to follow that example, despite the widespread and increasing opposition to greyhound racing. Indeed, a national survey commissioned by GREY2K USA Worldwide and CPG in 2022 found that 57 per cent of Australians believe that greyhound racing should be phased out or banned and 69 per cent oppose government subsidies for greyhound racing. Despite that, my home state's Tasracing is currently funded by the Tasmanian government to the tune of $27 million a year over 20 years, with the funding set to expire in 2029. And far from reducing funding in line with community interests, last year the state government announced a $2.53 million, or eight per cent, increase in funding for the Tasmanian racing industry. Surely this funding of state-sanctioned cruelty would be better spent on health and social housing, among other things, instead of lining the pockets of those breeders, owners and trainers who mistreat their dogs and discard them when they're of no use any more.

The greyhound racing industry claims that everyone involved loves their dogs, but hard evidence proves that too many people don't. The industry also claims that rehoming programs work a treat, but again it's all just spin because the industry knowingly kills countless surplus dogs, physically imperfect dogs, dogs that don't run fast enough and dogs that are of no use anymore. Frankly, the only way to end the cruelty is to end the industry. And the sooner that happens the better. It's as simple as that.