NEW ZEALAND LAWMAKERS have announced that the greyhound racing industry will be banned, citing animal welfare concerns and the “unacceptably high” number of injured and dying dogs.
Minister for Racing Winston Peters said the industry would be phased out over the next 20 months, giving trainers the chance to rehome dogs.
“This is not a decision that is taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs,” Peters said in a statement.
New Zealand is one of a handful of countries that still permits commercial greyhound racing.
Greyhound Racing New Zealand said hundreds of trainers, breeders and industry employees now faced losing their jobs.
Non-profit Safe for Animals said there were 13 greyhound deaths during New Zealand’s racing season in 2023-24.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds has documented hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries on Australian tracks over recent years.
The Australian state of New South Wales moved to ban greyhound racing in 2017 but backed down after an industry backlash.
A shrinking number of tracks still run greyhound races in Ireland, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Some 96 greyhounds were either euthanised or died of a racing injury on Ireland’s 15 operational greyhound racing tracks between January and the end of June 2024.
The figure is a sharp increase from the same period in 2023, during which 60 animals were either put down or died of a track-inflicted injury.
A total of €19.8 million will be provided to the dog racing industry in Ireland in 2025. The measure was approved as part of Budget 2025 by 109 TDs, while just 19 TDs voted against.
With additional reporting from Andrew Walsh
Written by AFP and posted on TheJournal.ie
100 dogs died in a 6 month period this year at irish tracks? And still over 85% of TDs backed their funding? That absolutely reeks.
Oh my god, did some other country beat us to the moral high ground. We’ll have to climb higher and ban dogs as pets. Ireland will not be second in puffing the chest out and wagging the finger
More woke nonsense. Most people in the greyhound industry love those animals as much as their human relatives. It’ll inevitably come in over here too, no doubt.
@Aidan Farrell: Have a crack at defining woke – and let us all know if the definition includes ‘banning a sport well known for the amount of animal deaths and cruelty caused by it’s common practices’. Cheers.
@Aidan Farrell: Love them so much they’re discarded like rubbish as soon as they aren’t fast enough to win. A ‘sport’ that’s also unable to stand on its own two feet without tax payers money propping it up.
@Joe Dev: you could say that about every sport in this country!
Where do government grants come from
@Lochlainn Garvey: weak effeminate victim based approach to life that hates masculinity and is scared of any risk. Greyhounds love racing, they are loved by their owners. Now they won’t be bred or looked after or get to go full tilt. What’s worse the chance of dying or never existing?
@Tom Ryan: classic whataboutery, way to avoid dealing with the actual issue
@Joe Dev: what about da FAI. Ud want a better arguement then tat.
@Dominic Gallagher: You think you can talk to dogs? Lazy, intolerant machismo is the least of your worries so pal
@Jonny Hellzapoppin: didn’t make any sense, I’m not your pal
@Dominic Gallagher: Ah, someone else who clearly doesn’t understand the words they’re trying to use. Is it masculine to refuse to take proper care of animals or effeminate to think practices like unregulated trafficking of animals into terrible conditions (so *not* being “looked after”)? I think you might not have a clue. Stick to the Andrew Tate podcasts lad because this appears to be a bit much for you.
Rightly so. It’s not a sport, it’s a cruel pastime that benefits a handful of people and has no place in a civilised society
@Jonny Hellzapoppin: you have never been to a race meet if you think it is a handful. Great night out at Drumbo. You don’t know what you are talking about
Greyhounds absolutely love it