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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 269 asked in the Legislative Council on 2 April 2019 by Hon Alison Xamon

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

ANIMAL WELFARE — GREYHOUND RACING INDUSTRY

269. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the Minister for Racing and Gaming:

I refer to the greyhound racing industry in Western Australia.

(1) Since coming to office, what measures has the government undertaken to improve animal welfare standards in the greyhound racing industry?

(2) In particular, what steps are being taken to reduce the number of greyhounds being euthanased if they are not suitable for racing?

(3) Are greyhounds continuing to be exported from WA to Macau, Vietnam or any other countries without animal welfare laws?

(4) If yes to (3), does the government intend to stop this practice?

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

I thank the member for the question.

(1)–(4) I apologise; I did not see this answer before we came into Parliament. It was just given to me as we were going into question time. It is an extremely lengthy answer, of some three closely typed pages, and I am wondering whether I can table it and seek leave to have it incorporated into Hansard.

Leave granted. [See paper 2551.]

The following material was incorporated —

I thank the Honourable Member for some notice of this question. The following information has been provided to me by the Minister for Racing and Gaming.

(1) The Minister for Racing and Gaming commissioned a working group, the Greyhound Welfare Working Group (GWWC), facilitated by Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA) to explore initiatives to improve the welfare of a greyhound's lifecycle in WA in 2017.

For the first time in WA, the greyhound racing industry and the major greyhound welfare and adoption groups collaborated in a bid to improve the treatment and welfare of greyhounds in WA racing by discussing what initiatives are currently in place and work towards solutions and common goals.

This group was formed to enhance communication and partnership between the racing industry bodies, the racing authority and the welfare advocacy and adoption groups, all of which bring a wealth of knowledge on the welfare and treatment of greyhounds across the state.

The GWWG achieved some significant improvements to welfare standards across several key areas, including transparency, oversight mechanisms, adoptions and foster care. Some of these key achievements are listed below.

          Review of the Code of Practice - with participation from welfare experts and advocacy groups to include the highest national standards of welfare. The Code, enforceable under the Rules of Racing, has been adopted and is being communicated to industry.

          Development of a Foster Carer Workshop and Program – first workshop took place on 4 November 2018, the next one is planned for June 2019.

          Pilot Program commenced with Greyhound Angels for Second Chance Greyhound as Pets (GAP) greyhounds.

          Additional funding secured for Greyhound Angels (through RWWA) to support veterinary care and rehoming expenses.

          Injury Track Rebate Scheme was commenced and valuable feedback was provided through the GWWG leading to a further expansion of the scheme which is now well underway.

          The long-term publication of stewards reports on RWWA's website to improve transparency.

          Provision of extensive industry data by RWWA as requested by the group with related information as recommended by the group included in RWWA annual and other corporate, reports.

          RWWA to review the green collar assessment when the statutory review of the relevant legislation commences.

(2) No greyhound in the WA greyhound racing industry should be euthanised if they are deemed not suitable to race. RWWA have implemented several oversight and tracking measures, including penalties such as disqualification periods applied for any breaches, to ensure that each individual greyhound in the racing industry is tracked from birth and also to ensure every effort is made to rehome greyhounds no matter what age they depart the racing industry.

Several of the initiatives more recently implemented to improve the welfare standards in WA that directly relate to the Member's question include:

          ensuring greyhounds are tracked through their full life cycle by means such as compulsory microchipping;

          installing hoop lures at Cannington and Mandurah tracks to decrease racing injuries;

          stricter breeding controls;

          mandatory assessments for retiring greyhounds; and

          ongoing control/surveillance of trial tracks and venues.

Furthermore, in 2018/19 RWWA committed to making additional investments in animal welfare, including the following key elements:

          $200,000 for rehoming initiatives through GAP;

          $250,000 for an expanded track injury rebate scheme to help pay for the costs of surgery, and associated treatment and rehabilitation;

          $75,000 for marketing of Greyhound as Pets; and

          $23,000 sterilisation subsidy to assist in the costs of mandatory sterilisation.

The re-homing of greyhounds through GAP continues to increase, with the number of greyhounds successfully rehomed for the 2016/17 financial year increasing 102 per cent from the previous financial year, and a further 10 per cent increase the following year.

See tabled paper no # from the 2018 RWWA Annual Report which shows a year on year reduction in euthanasia from the previous year.

(3) No greyhounds are being exported from WA to Macau, Vietnam or any other countries without animal welfare laws. Western Australia is unique for both geographical reasons and also the nature of our industry, resulting in WA being an importer and not an exporter of greyhounds. We breed only some 400 to 500 per year and yet have some 1,444 individual starters.

RWWA rigorously enforces rules regarding notifying the movement of greyhounds and there is no evidence that WA greyhounds are being exported overseas in any organised or systemic way, and no greyhound exports to any country in South East Asia has occurred since 2013 from WA.

(4) Despite no greyhounds being exported from WA to Macau, Vietnam or any other countries without animal welfare laws, in mid-2018 Minister Papalia took the lead and formally wrote to the Hon. David Littleproud MP, Minister for Agriculture, seeking the Federal Government's support to take urgent action to commence the appropriate regulatory and legislative change needed to prevent exporting greyhounds to South East Asia.

I table the attached letter from Minister Papalia and the response from Minister Littleproud.

I understand further support was requested by Greyhounds Australasia (GA) and the greyhound racing industry nationally for investigation into any assistance the Federal Government could provide to ensure the safety, proper treatment and rehoming of the greyhounds residing at the Canidrome in Macau.

To date there has been no progress in these matters from the Federal Government despite continued lobbying.