Shaneel Lal: It’s time to ban greyhound racing

Greyhounds at full speed during a race.

OPINION

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. That seems to be the case in New Zealand until you learn that we are one of just seven countries in the world that allow commercial greyhound racing.

The racing industry causes greyhounds insurmountable pain and distress by causing illnesses and injuries, failed rehoming, doping and unexplained euthanasia. It is a longstanding issue that has only one fix: a ban.

In 2014, a trainer was fined $300 for kicking their greyhound. In 2015, another trainer was fined $250 for punching their dog.

In 2017, a report by former High Court judge Rodney Hansen found that in the previous three seasons of racing, more than 2000 dogs had been injured, at least 1300 dogs were euthanised, and 1271 were unaccounted for.

Then in 2018, a trainer was disqualified for only two years after their dog tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine after a race. The Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s 2018 annual report said 353 dogs were euthanised after the industry failed to rehome them. That is almost a dog killed every day of the year.

GRNZ claimed it had tried to keep the number of dogs euthanised to “an absolute minimum”.

In 2021, a trainer was fined $350 for striking his dog in full view of an audience and on live television because it had displayed “poor manners” after winning a race. The same year a trainer was fined but not disqualified after his greyhound tested positive for diclofenac, a drug dangerous to dogs if ingested, and a greyhound co-owned by a member of the Racing Integrity Unit, the body that investigates breaches of racing codes, tested positive for methamphetamine.

Politicians have afforded the racing industry countless reviews, reports, and opportunities to improve greyhound welfare. Greyhounds continue to suffer skyrocketing numbers of injuries and painful but preventable death. The industry has been on its last legs for years. I say cut them off.

Greyhound racing has no social value. It has two purposes: gambling and sadistic entertainment. No one wants to race to death. Humans have endless sources of entertainment that do not require us to inflict pain on innocent beings. People who find greyhound racing entertaining should find a way to amuse themselves that doesn’t include animal abuse.

The industry isn’t paying its fair share of taxes either. In 2017, approximately 150 animal racing clubs had tax-exempt status, and all prize money was tax-exempt. Hundreds of millions are wagered on greyhound racing each year. Handing out minuscule fines for abusing and drugging greyhounds doesn’t make a dent for people taking home thousands of untaxed dollars.

Greyhound trainers and owners’ tax-free wins do not affect their ability to claim government benefits, while the taxpayers are forced to subsidise the racing industry. In 2020, the Minister for Racing, Winston Peters, spoon-fed the racing industry $72 million of taxpayer money, citing a financial crisis.

Animals are a commodity under the law. Killing your greyhound humanely is not a crime. Greyhounds will lose economic value for trainers and owners post-ban. A better use of $72 million would be a subsidised rehabilitation and rehoming programme for greyhounds to avoid mass killings post-ban.

Minister of Racing Kieran McAnulty has delayed the decision on the greyhound racing industry’s future until after the elections. McAnulty and most political parties fail to appreciate that New Zealanders want greyhound racing outlawed.

A survey commissioned by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2022 found that 74 per cent of New Zealanders would vote to ban dog racing. Only 9 per cent believe that greyhounds have a good life. We cannot trust the greyhound racing industry to do better. They have spent a decade proving they cannot.

The race has run.

Shaneel Shavneel Lal (they/them) was instrumental in the bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. They are a law and psychology student, model and influencer.