Welcome to the Greyhound Protection League of New Zealand


Facts about Greyhound racing in New Zealand

      1. Approximately 1300 greyhounds are introduced annually to racing in New Zealand. About 140 of these dogs are retired through the Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) scheme. The industry breeds and imports far many more dogs than it ever intends to, or is capable of, re-homing.
      2. Approximately 50 will die at race events each year, euthanased due to injuries caused by racing. Many more die shortly after (where their deaths are not recorded). Half the dogs that die on New Zealand tracks are born in Australia.
      3. Every year, many hundreds are put to sleep for being unprofitable. A greyhound will naturally live to 12–14 years of age. Most are usually past racing age by the time they reach 4. Some may live to race only a few times.
      4. Most racing greyhounds are not registered with local district councils despite being required to under the Dog Control Act 1996, displacing the costs of registration onto regular dog owners. The industry refuses to enforce registration, so the costs are borne by adoption agencies for the few who reach retirement.
      5. Greyhounds are often over-raced, are driven all over the country for races, and often have to endure the long ride home again with fractures, broken bones, torn muscles and other injuries.
      6. There are frequently instances of greyhounds being drugged to either enhance their performance or mask injuries so that they can slip past vet checks and race before they are adequately healed.
      7. Despite some instances of general animal welfare being so bad that owners/trainers have had their dogs immediately confiscated and their racing licenses cancelled, there has never been a police nor RSPCA prosecution. Such animal welfare breaches go unreported and remain well kept secrets.
      8. After 80% of the industries’ income is returned to successful patrons, only one half of one percent (00.5%) of the greyhound racing industry’s earnings are given to the Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) retirement program. The other 99.5% of earnings (over $20 Million) is absorbed by salaries, wages, and running costs. The top single individual at the TAB is paid 7.5 times as much as the entire greyhound retirement program. The greyhound racing industry (local racing clubs) re-finances itself using pub charity.
      9. There are injuries at nearly every race event, almost every day of the week. There will probably be multiple injuries the day that you read this. Greyhounds are not athletes, they are victims of the gambling industry’s profit-making agenda.
      10. Greyhounds are very gentle loving and vulnerable animals, despite the potential of their training to corrupt this. In the racing industry, most aren’t even toilet trained. Many don’t even know their own names.

 

Greyhounds deserve the same protection as any other companion animal.

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