Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming August 2016 4 Greyhound racing advocates gone to the dogs www.asgam.com F or the most part, I tend to oppose laws that place blanket bans on activities due to the irresponsible actions of a small few. A prime example is making headlines in the UK right now, where newly appointed aviation minister Tariq Ahmad has proposed a ban on alcohol sales at all UK airports. Ahmad’s proposal is in response to several recent incidents in which intoxicated passengers have caused major disturbances either at airports or mid-flight, with 442 such incidents reported between 2014 and 2016. But UK airports have seen more than 600 million passengers pass through in that time, meaning for every passenger that caused a disturbance, 1.4 million passengers didn’t. Talk about overkill. Yet for all the similarly absurd examples of politicians taking a gun to a pillow fight, there are times when the evidence for a total ban is simply too compelling to ignore. The greyhound industry has reached that time. In early July, NSW Premier Mike Baird announced that Australia’s largest state would shut down greyhound racing completely by 1 July 2017 after a damning inquiry revealed widespread animal abuse. It is worth noting that Australia is the largest feeder market for the supply of greyhounds in Macau. Although a crackdown wasn’t unexpected, the total ban in NSW came as a huge surprise and debate has been fierce since. Not surprisingly, the main argument being used against the ban is that it punishes the majority for the actions of a few. But there are two problems with this argument when it comes to greyhound racing. One, it’s not actually true and two, it’s irrelevant anyway. Let’s look at the figures. In the wake of its 12 month investigation into the greyhound racing industry, the government’s Special Commission of Inquiry found there had been somewhere between 48,891 and 68,448 greyhounds killed because they were deemed too slow to race. Another 180 dogs each year suffered “catastrophic” injuries such as fractured skulls or broken backs while racing. And up to 20% of trainers were found to use live baiting to train their dogs – a practice whereby live animals such as rabbits, cats and squirrels are used as bait to be chased and ultimately torn apart by dogs. The numbers alone are staggering, but they also reveal an industry that it is rotten at the core. In essence the report suggests that, although the majority of greyhound owners race their dogs because of a genuine passion for the sport, there is a smaller group for whom racing is a profession – with cash their sole motivation. And it is within this group that the bad seeds primarily exist. They are, after all, the ones looking to profit. They are the ones with multiple dogs, the ones at multiple meets each week. They are the core – take away that core and the industry falls apart. As observed in the Special Commission’s report, “It appears unlikely that the issue of the large scale killing of healthy greyhounds by the industry can be addressed successfully in the future … 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.” Greyhound racing’s impending doom in NSW also sends a message about the treatment of animals as a whole and society’s rapidly changing views. Animal abuse cannot, and will not, be tolerated any longer. Again, there have been arguments to counter this through the greyhound ban debate. One is that animal abuse is present across a range of industries, so why has greyhound racing been singled out? There is some truth to this. Certainly animal abuse is far from isolated to greyhounds. But that’s not a reason to give the racing industry a free pass. Instead, it represents one small step up the ladder. Rest assured, more will eventually follow. And what of the estimated 1,000 people currently employed by greyhound racing in NSW? Their situation – the innocent ones at least – is regrettable. They didn’t deserve this, but neither did those 68,448 greyhounds deserve to die. The dogs surely paid a much heavier price. But no longer will this be the case. Mr Baird has taken a strong stance on this issue and to his credit has remained unwavering in the face of some considerable fightback. Notably, we can assume the NSW ban didn’t go unnoticed in Macau where the DICJ has issued Macao (Yut Yuen) Canidrome Co Ltd with an ultimatum to relocate its controversial dog racing track or be shut down within two years. It’s no coincidence that most of Macau’s greyhounds come from Australia, with DICJ Director Paulo Martins Chan echoing Baird’s stance on the need for higher animal care standards in the future. It is a stance that should be applauded. Ben Blaschke We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to [email protected] . Editorial