OPINION: In September last year the Minister for Racing put greyhound racing "on notice" citing the industry’s repeated failures in animal welfare, transparency and recordkeeping. So what’s happened since?
Animal advocates, SAFE and the SPCA, our most recognised animal welfare and advocacy organisations, have entered the discussion, raising awareness to an unprecedented level. An SPCA email campaign may interest readers. SAFE and SPCA recognise both the severity and breadth of the issues in this gambling-motivated activity, and the pervasive nature of greyhound racing’s problems mean their support for a discontinuation is thoughtful and well-placed.
But, there’s a significant problem.
The decision on whether this non-essential, harmful activity continues, comes down to key advice from the industry regulator, the Racing Integrity Board (RIB). They, in partnership with Greyhound Racing New Zealand, have developed a publicly unavailable set of secret “Key Performance Indicators” (KPI’s) that will be used to measure the industry's “social licence”. The RIB will evaluate the industry, decide how well they’ve done and then advise the Minister for Racing. It is only when the Minister announces his decision that we might find out what these industry written KPI’s were. It’s an odd non-transparent process that excludes input from everyone except those with a vested interest in the continuation of greyhound racing. After all, why would the RIB choose to cancel the very industry they regulate?
I’m concerned further because of the way the RIB has handled Animal Welfare and methamphetamine issues in greyhound racing this year. Usually, methamphetamine offences would be a domain for the police and animal welfare would be regulated by.. drum roll.. qualified animal welfare regulators. We have those, and they exist for good reason. Instead, the RIB has taken the responsibility of investigating these illegal incidents, rather than recognised authorities. This means that instead of being held accountable by a criminal court, like everyone else, these offenders are sheltered from meaningful consequences by the actions of the RIB. Offenders are subject only to the softer sports code rules that only pertain to racing activity. People are walking away from unenforceable fines and meaningless suspensions. The new system is failing.
I’m also worried because there are pervasive welfare issues that have proven impossible to mitigate, adoption rates are slowing and there has been an increase in the number of dogs who test positive for methamphetamine. Of course, broken legs and other horrific injuries are ongoing and suffered by greyhounds only for the profit of owners and the entertainment of gamblers. The way this is all being assessed makes me worried that greyhounds are still not going to get a fair go.
The Minister for Racing needs to ask himself: Why should greyhound racing be allowed to continue? There have already been three inquiries that led to the same grim conclusions, and three reform opportunities that have already been offered to the industry. The lack of transparency around the KPI’s and the vested interests of those who are creating and measuring them makes me uneasy. But I’m cautiously optimistic that with enough public pressure the government will make the right decision and ban greyhound racing.
Aaron Cross is a petitioner for The Greyhound Protection League.
