Australian Dog Racing Industry Talks a Lot, but Doesn't Say Anything

Jeroen & Millie the Greyhound, Photo by Matt Knappick

Last week leaders of the Australian greyhound racing industry released a new "Animal Welfare Strategy," and claimed it was the next step in establishing "animal welfare excellence." We support efforts to reform greyhound racing, and ordinarily would applaud such a move. In this case, however, it turns out that this new "strategy" is nothing more than series of platitudes and bromides, without any real action.

For example, under "end of career alternatives" the first listed goal of this new strategy is:

"To continue to implement specific and innovative changes that will ensure that the industry Greyhound Adoption Program’s (GAP’s) are continuing to operate in the most effective manner possible to meet industry demands."

Say what? This is a great example, to quote songwriter David Byrne, of "talking a lot" but "not saying anything." Of course, by releasing this supposed "Animal Welfare Strategy" last week, the industry hoped to distract attention from the ongoing New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into greyhound racing. GREY2K USA Worldwide Australian Director Jeroen van Kernebeek said as much when he spoke before the inquiry the following day.  In part, Jeroen told lawmakers:

"This list of vagaries has obviously been thrown together at the last minute and we should all view this announcement sceptically. Its timing is clearly political and proves that the dog racing industry does not view greyhound welfare as a serious policy issue."

Jeroen is absolutely right. The greyhound racing industry released their bogus "Animal Welfare Strategy" as a public relations strategy. It gave them an opportunity to send out a press release on the eve of the final inquiry hearing, in which they made statements like:

"Animal welfare is one of our major priorities and this joint strategy builds on the significant progress already made ... over the past decade."

Of course, talk is cheap. It is yet to be seen if the Australian dog racing industry will actually do anything to address animal welfare. We shouldn't bet on it, considering their long track record of scandals and humane crises. In recent weeks information has been released about thousands of unprofitable greyhounds being killed, racing dogs dying after being given to veterinary schools, and other problems.

In the meantime, there is a groundswell of support for ending greyhound racing Down Under. We are proud to play a role in this budding movement, and are optimistic that the best days are ahead of us when it comes to the humane treatment of greyhounds in Australia.

A Global Campaign to Help Greyhounds

On Saturday night I had the honor of announcing GREY2K USA Worldwide, a new international effort to end the cruelty of greyhound racing.

For this special occasion, I was joined by GREY2K USA President Christine Dorchak, our Australian director Jeroen van Kernebeek, and League Against Cruel Sports CEO Joe Duckworth. Surrounded by a room of friends and allies, we reflected on the victories we have already won and the work we have left to do.

In the official announcement, we described our improbable journey which began as a defeated local ballot question committee:

"Twelve years ago, Christine Dorchak and I formed GREY2K USA with an absurd notion, that ordinary citizens could bring about change ... we started with very little. We did not have an endowment, or a powerful backer, or a team of experienced staff members. Instead, we had a tiny office with no windows, a small but committed Board of Directors, and a dream. A dream we had lived through, in which we had given the greyhounds a voice, and stood up to two of the most powerful tracks in the country, before finally losing one of the closest ballot questions in state history."

We then outlined the progress that has been made so far:

"A dozen years later, we have ended greyhound racing in New England. The number of active dog tracks in the U.S. has been cut from 48 to 21, with the remaining tracks on the verge of collapse. Despite this success, our work is not over. We must continue to fight until dogs no longer live in cages, no longer suffer injuries, and are no longer discarded, for an industry built on greed and denial."

Finally we made the announcement about our transition:

"We are here tonight, because we are also called to help greyhounds in other parts of the world ... GREY2K USA Worldwide will seek to give greyhounds a global voice, because the greyhounds in London and Sydney are just as important as the greyhounds in Miami and Des Moines ... this is a global industry of cruelty, and it deserves a global response."

All over the world, there are grassroots groups and non-profit organizations who are striving to give greyhounds a voice. By working together, we can send a message that regardless of where it exists, the cruelty of greyhound racing will not be tolerated.