NSW Labor: Don't support the Greyhound Racing Industry. Vote with Baird to close it down.
NSW Labor: Don't support the Greyhound Racing Industry. Vote with Baird to close it down.
The issue
The NSW State Opposition Leader, Luke Foley (Labor), has expressed support for the Greyhound Racing industry in face of Mike Baird's decision to ban the sport and is trying to rally groups in NSW state parliament to prevent the ban as per - http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/07/11/baird-faces-internal-split-over-greyhounds
The reason Mike Baird has chosen to proceed with a ban on Greyhound Racing is due to the results of a Special Commission of Enquiry conducted by former High Court Justice, Michael McHugh.
A summary of the results are as follows:
• The mass killing of greyhounds. The report found, “In NSW in the last 12 years ... somewhere between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs were killed because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing.” In the industry, they call this “wastage”. It’s not wastage: it is the unnecessary slaughtering of tens of thousands of healthy dogs.
• The widespread practice of “live baiting”. This is where live animals, like rabbits, are used as bait to be chased by dogs in training sessions. The report found that, even though this is already illegal and carries heavy penalties, “a trainer, who admitted to engaging in live baiting, testified that about 10-20% of trainers engaged in live baiting.”
• The systemic deception of the public concerning the numbers of deaths and injuries of dogs. It is estimated that 180 greyhounds per year sustain catastrophic injuries during races such as skull fractures or broken backs that result in their immediate death. But the commission found that “Greyhound Racing NSW had adopted a policy of deliberately misreporting the extent of injuries suffered by greyhounds at racetracks.”
• The industry is not capable, in the short or medium term, of reforming. The report found that “it appears unlikely that the issue of the large scale killing of healthy greyhounds by the industry can be addressed successfully in the future.” In fact, the report found that, “such is the culture of the industry and some of its leaders that it is no longer, if it ever was, entitled to the trust of the community.”
Clearly this industry needs to be shut down. Let's call on NSW Labor to do the right thing and support the ban.
The issue
The NSW State Opposition Leader, Luke Foley (Labor), has expressed support for the Greyhound Racing industry in face of Mike Baird's decision to ban the sport and is trying to rally groups in NSW state parliament to prevent the ban as per - http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/07/11/baird-faces-internal-split-over-greyhounds
The reason Mike Baird has chosen to proceed with a ban on Greyhound Racing is due to the results of a Special Commission of Enquiry conducted by former High Court Justice, Michael McHugh.
A summary of the results are as follows:
• The mass killing of greyhounds. The report found, “In NSW in the last 12 years ... somewhere between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs were killed because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing.” In the industry, they call this “wastage”. It’s not wastage: it is the unnecessary slaughtering of tens of thousands of healthy dogs.
• The widespread practice of “live baiting”. This is where live animals, like rabbits, are used as bait to be chased by dogs in training sessions. The report found that, even though this is already illegal and carries heavy penalties, “a trainer, who admitted to engaging in live baiting, testified that about 10-20% of trainers engaged in live baiting.”
• The systemic deception of the public concerning the numbers of deaths and injuries of dogs. It is estimated that 180 greyhounds per year sustain catastrophic injuries during races such as skull fractures or broken backs that result in their immediate death. But the commission found that “Greyhound Racing NSW had adopted a policy of deliberately misreporting the extent of injuries suffered by greyhounds at racetracks.”
• The industry is not capable, in the short or medium term, of reforming. The report found that “it appears unlikely that the issue of the large scale killing of healthy greyhounds by the industry can be addressed successfully in the future.” In fact, the report found that, “such is the culture of the industry and some of its leaders that it is no longer, if it ever was, entitled to the trust of the community.”
Clearly this industry needs to be shut down. Let's call on NSW Labor to do the right thing and support the ban.
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Petition created on 11 July 2016