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.