Image: Wikimedia Commons
by SYDNEY BALDWIN
Following shocking allegations about the greyhound racing industry, Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris has announced an inquiry into the scandal.
Lea Drake, a highly experienced mediator and investigator with over two decades of experience, has been appointed by the Minister to conduct an inquiry into the greyhound racing scandal as an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC).
The news comes after the discovery of a departing letter from former chief veterinary officer Alex Brittan, detailing a report of appalling allegations in the industry.
The report claims that rates of the number of dogs being rehomed had been inflated and that some dogs were locked in mental cages.
In the report, Brittan claimed that the greyhounds are raced at “barbaric” intensities and locked in metal cages with “deep claw marks gouged all over the inside of metal cages and recent pools of blood from toe nails that had been ripped off from clawing at the cage door in distress,” the report states.
After the report was made public, GRNSW CEO Rob Macaulay stepped down, leaving deputy Wayne Billett to take his place.
What the Inquiry Will Do & Effects
The inquiry will be done in accordance with GWIC’s powers under Part 8 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2017 (the Act), an act to provide for the welfare of greyhounds and monitor racing.
Issues that will be covered in the inquiry include adoption and rehoming programs for greyhounds by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW), along with the management of GRNSW, procurement and recruitment processes.
GRNSW reporting and accuracy in relation to greyhounds will also be a key issue covered in the inquiry, as well as GRNSW management’s response to concerns about organisational and workplace culture and conduct.
The Minister will proceed to refer all serious allegations to relevant authorities for considerations, update regulations under the Act to have more flexibility to order a removal of GRNSW board and appoint an administrator if confidence in the current board is lost.
The Minister has also requested the GRNSW Board show him reasons as to why they should not be stood down from their positions.
The GWIC has been asked to conduct a separate review of GRNSW’s Wyee rehoming facility, which the Minister will refer to the Acting Commissioner.
“I take these various concerns about GRNSW very seriously and this inquiry, using the full investigative powers of GWIC, will conduct a thorough and wide-ranging review of all relevant issues,” Minister Harris said in a statement.
“Ms Drake is eminently qualified to lead this inquiry. Further details about the inquiry, its procedures and conduct of hearings will be made in due course. The Acting Commissioner is to report back to me by 13 December 2024.”
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