Exporting greyhounds is no welfare solution! Ban overbreeding in racing!

In response to the abrupt closure of Wyee Greyhounds As Pets adoption facility, Abigail gave notice of a motion in Parliament demanding Labor implement breeding caps in the racing industry.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that:

on 20 May 2024, Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) announced the sudden closure of the Wyee Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) adoption facility, the site of which GRNSW intends to transform into a base for the “Aussie Mates to the States” program which exports greyhounds overseas;
the Wyee facility was abruptly shut down without any notice given to the 22 staff working at the facility, who have since taken to the media to raise alarm over the way in which they were unexpectedly made redundant and escorted off the premises;
according to GRNSW CEO Rob Macauley, of the approximately 51 greyhounds currently residing at the Wyee facility, 27 are to be exported to the US and the remaining 24 will be transferred to the Londonderry GAP facility which is already at capacity and a nearly 2-hour drive away;
current and former staff have raised serious concerns about the 27 dogs from Wyee being exported to the US and put on a 20 hours flight in a cramped kennel, as they are severely traumatised and highly anxious from not only being ex-racing greyhounds but also having had their training and rehabilitation programs abruptly halted. Despite these concerns raised by staff who have spent hours with these greyhounds, Rob Macauley continues to publicly insist that these dogs are “pet ready” and that there will be “no negative impact on animal welfare” as a result of the facility’s closure;
staff have also publicly raised concerns about the way Rob Macauley and other GRNSW executives allegedly speak about greyhounds including referring to them as “commodities” and disregarding the welfare of greyhounds in GAP’s care;
damning photographs have recently surfaced from a whistleblower from the Wyee GAP facility that depict serious abuse and neglect of greyhounds in the care of GRNSW kept in unsafe kennel conditions;
according to Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, the greyhound racing industry continues to breed greyhounds at an alarming rate of six times GAP’s capacity to rehome, refusing to implement breeding caps and blatantly ignoring concerns and opposition from welfare advocates and the community in relation to the unsustainable and cruel breeding of greyhounds for racing, as well as significant allegations of cruelty and neglect under GRNSW’s rehoming and adoption programs; and
exporting greyhounds overseas to be rehomed as companion animals or working dogs is an unsustainable band-aid solution to the overbreeding of greyhounds for racing and the rate at which the racing industry discards greyhounds.

(2) That this House calls on the Minister for Racing to urgently introduce breeding caps to limit the number of greyhounds bred for racing in NSW.

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Exporting greyhounds is no welfare solution! Ban overbreeding in racing!

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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