Every year, thousands of young and healthy greyhound dogs are killed merely because they lack winning potential, were injured while racing or are no longer competitive.
Some of the injuries sustained are broken legs, cardiac arrest, spinal cord paralysis and broken necks.
A fifth dog “Maddingley Park” was euthanased at Geelong Greyhound racing Club on Monday Night after it sustained injuries in a collision.
Maddingley Park suffered a leg fracture, in the collision as were the four previous dogs to die at Corio’s Beckley Park in 2020, according to the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds.
Nearly 80% of fatal injuries on the track occur where the track turns and all the dogs bunch together at high speed.
A fractured leg is repairable, but the racing industry isn’t prepared to invest money on rehabilitation. Also as with race horses, insurers won’t pay out on a dog or horse that is still alive.
Latest statistics show, that a total of 181 greyhounds have suffered injuries at the Geelong track this year alone.
Greyhound racing has undergone massive reform and when a dog is injured, it’s fate falls into the hands of a qualified on-track veterinarian. And each track death must be investigated.
In 2015, Four Corners reported that the industry admitted to killing up to 17,000 healthy dogs each year including 7,000 pups and young dogs who don’t even step on a track.
With an outcry from the general public about the use of live rabbits, possums and piglets to train racing greyhounds, the rules were changed and now an artificial lure travels ahead of the dogs on a rail until the dogs cross the finish line.
To add salt to injury, Greyhound Racing Victoria have recently increased the prize money by almost three million dollars.
The University of Technology (UTS) feel that there would be less injuries if the tracks were straight, however the general consensus is the only way to end greyhound suffering is to abolish greyhound racing altogether.
