Animal Welfare Policy
Greyhounds Australasia (GA), on behalf of its member states, is calling for participant feedback on proposed breeding and vaccination rule changes that make up part of the National Greyhound Welfare Strategy.
The National Greyhound Welfare Strategy is one of the most important Australia-wide initiatives ever undertaken by the greyhound racing industry. It promises to have long term impacts on the way the sport is conducted and significantly improve greyhound welfare outcomes across the country.
To assist with the implementation of the first phase of the National Greyhound Welfare Strategy by 1 July 2015, GA and its member states are notifying participants of the proposed changes and inviting them to provide constructive feedback on them and on how they should be implemented.
The rule changes specifically relate to new restrictions and registration requirements for brood bitches and to increased vaccination levels for all registered greyhounds.
GA Chief Executive Officer Scott Parker encouraged all participants to take part in the feedback process.
"The industry believes in a shared vision for greyhound welfare excellence throughout Australia. The National Greyhound Welfare Strategy is a comprehensive set of objectives, priorities and activities that aims to improve welfare outcomes for all current and future greyhounds bred for racing," Mr Parker said.
"This first phase of implementation focuses on improving immunisation rates and the breeding of greyhound litters with the aim of better protecting the welfare of the industry’s breeding animals and to assist in reducing the number of greyhounds bred that are unlikely to be suited to racing.
“Community attitudes towards animal welfare, and our own expectations of each other, have changed. Industry success is tied to the care for the greyhound and that’s why it’s important everyone involved in our industry understand the need for change and the implications of the change and have their say,” Mr Parker said.
The consultation period will run between 1 December 2014 and 15 January 2015.