Change Coming to Australian Dog Racing Industry

Over the last two days, GREY2K USA Worldwide President Christine Dorchak and I held a series of key meetings in Melbourne, Australia, during the second leg of our campaign trek through Australasia and China.

We Meet With the Excellent Animals Australia Team

First, we held a comprehensive strategy meeting with powerhouse humane organization Animals Australia. In many ways Animals Australia reminds me of our key British ally, the League Against Cruel Sports. It is clever, committed, and not afraid to take on a tough fight. The work Animals Australia is doing for greyhounds is one of the most significant new developments in the global fight to end dog racing.

We then met with several top officials from RSPCA Australia, a national non-profit organization that is widely respected and speaks with a powerful voice in advocating for Australian greyhounds.


These visits were followed by a series of meetings with top representatives from the Australian greyhound racing industry, including Greyhounds Australasia CEO Scott Parker. We had a very open conversation, a stark contrast to the bunker mentality we experienced in New Zealand, and have witnessed for years in America. During nearly four hours of talks, it became clear that industry executives in Australia are fully aware that commercial dog racing is out of step with mainstream values on animal welfare, and fundamental changes are necessary.

After these industry talks, we received an informative briefing on the Australian political system from leaders of the Animals Justice Party. The Party recently won its first parliamentary seat, and will no doubt lead the passage of major humane victories in the years to come.

Carey Theil and Scott Parker After Hours of Industry Talks

Finally, we had dinner with the Greyhound Equality Society and Amazing Greys Greyhound Rescue and Adoption. The Greyhound Equality Society is doggedly fighting to repeal a wrongheaded requirement that all adopted greyhounds be muzzled in public, a victory that seems inevitable. Meanwhile, Amazing Greys is doing incredible work helping to find homes for rescued greyhounds, with an all-volunteer effort. This meeting provided us with invaluable insights about greyhound adoption in Victoria, and was a wonderful end to our time in Melbourne.

Even though we have only been in the country for a few days, it is breathtaking to see how many different people are working to improve the lives of greyhounds. Mainstream animal protection groups, adoption advocates, political parties and even the industry itself all recognize that the status quo cannot continue, and greyhounds deserve better. Based on these meetings, I am more confident than ever that fundamental changes are on the way Down Under.

Report Reveals Stark Conditions at Macau Dog Track

In late June, a trade group for the Australian racing industry, Greyhounds Australasia, released a review of greyhound exports. This report includes new details about the Canidrome dog track in Macau, where hundreds of greyhounds die every year. According to the review:

"Construction of the kennels is almost entirely concrete and metal. Each individual kennel is numbered and has a raised bed with some bedding ... the entire facility can house up to 900 greyhounds."

"The kennels are 50 years old and appear dark and uninviting but were clean and cool."

"There were no runs' or outdoor yards for exercise ... many of the greyhounds chose to lie on the concrete floor of their kennels."

The report also indicates that as many as half of all greyhounds that race at the Canidrome are killed annually:

"Macau management confirmed that close to 50 per cent of their racing stock were euthanized each year due to serious injury."

The greyhounds that aren't killed instead live the rest of their life in dismal conditions. This is partly because greyhounds are imported to Macau under a working dog license, and not allowed to be pets. This means that Brooklyn the greyhound may still be alive, and being kept in a concrete kennel with hundreds of other dogs. According to the review:

"At the end of a greyhound's career, its owner decides on what will happen to the greyhound. Some continue to pay their kennel fees and the dogs are simply housed at the Canidrome until old age - GA delegates met a number of these elderly residents during our visit."

Regarding injuries, the review indicates that "many" of the Canidrome greyhounds were previously hurt in Australia before being sent to Macau. It also states that there are serious problems with the Canidrome track surface, including issues that cannot be resolved:

"The track has two parallel straights with quite tight turns at either end ... there is no possibility of the track shape being able to be modified due to the other land uses both inside and outside the track."

What does the future hold for the Canidrome?

"The track surface appears to be too dry and too hard most of the time and the manual methods of preparing the racing surface is likely to lead to inconsistent race surfaces ... it is not possible for the track shape to be altered."

Incredibly, after documenting all of this cruelty, Greyhounds Australasia was still predisposed to defend the Canidrome. According to the review, group representatives found it "extremely difficult to be overly critical of the greyhound racing operations in Macau." Further, although the group has suspended greyhound passports to the track, their decision has not prevented Australian greyhounds from being shipped there.

It's now clear that the greyhound racing industry will take no serious action to address the problems in Macau. The government has no choice but to close the track, and we are asking it to do so when the Canidrome's lease expires at the end of 2015.