Image: A still from the now-censored video depicting Omega Texas falling and shattering his two front legs. He was put down shortly after.
by GRACE JOHNSON
A young greyhound was killed and 11 injured at Wentworth Park, Sydney’s “safe” greyhound racetrack, on Saturday, reigniting calls to end the suffering endured by racing dogs.
According to a statement released by the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG), in Race 12 on the “night of carnage”, the two-year-old Omega Texas was running at 70km/h when he fell at the first turn, shattering his front legs.
He was put down by the industry vet with the incident removed from the official race video.
In addition, 11 dogs were injured that night. At an earlier race meeting on February 9, 11 other dogs were injured, making a total of 70 greyhounds that have been injured at Wentworth Park in 2024, the fourth highest track injury total in Australia.
Greyhound welfare advocates have called for racing at the track to be suspended while an independent inquiry is established.
The track is currently trialling a “double-arm” lure as a safety initiative, but yet another death happened overnight in Dubbo with a double-arm lure.
In a statement, Kylie Field, NSW director of the CPG, said, “The Wentworth Park racetrack is dangerous and should be closed while its safety is investigated.”
“Greyhound racing does not belong in inner-city Sydney. It’s a blood sport that kills dogs,” she continued.
“Just a few days ago a leading trainer was found guilty of killing his greyhounds by bashing in their heads, a supposedly traditional method of disposing of dogs.”
“Animal abuse on a high level”
Earlier in February, greyhound trainer Trevor Leonard Rice, who bashed the heads of four dogs with a hammer before burying them under a concrete slab and garden beds, was found guilty of 18 offences in the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission.
He received a $3250 fine and a lifetime ban from racing.
In conversation in City Hub, Ms Field said racing dogs are treated as a commodity.
“That’s why someone can take a hammer and hit the dogs over the head,” said Ms Field.
“Participants in the industry like to tell everybody that they love their dogs,” she continued. “But they love their dogs when they are making money. Then they’re disposed of like a piece of rubbish when they no longer make money.”
Racing greyhounds are often locked away for up to 23 hours a day, let out only for brief training.
“There’s no human contact with these dogs,” said Ms Field. “It’s brutal. This is animal abuse on a very high level.”
Ms Field affirmed that the industry needs to be shut down, and that it contributes nothing to society.
“This industry has always operated under brutality. It’s always operated under smoke and mirrors. And it’s an industry that has no place in modern Australia,” she said.
Industry relies on taxpayers money
The Australian greyhound industry relies on governments using taxpayers money to “prop it up”, said Ms Field.
The industry also relies on major gambling agencies that are based overseas, most of them for broadcasting rights.
Millions go towards the industry each year, in addition to the land tax exemption for land owned by or held in trust for any club for promoting or controlling animal racing, which amounts to $52 million over three years from 2021 to 2023.
In August last year, when the federal government was considering the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling, which looked eventually banning online advertising, the NSW greyhound racing industry claimed that doing so would result in more dogs suffering and animal welfare programs closing.
But the surging popularity of online gambling in international markets has seen more races being held in NSW, resulting in a significant rise in greyhound track deaths and injuries.
According to the Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission (GWIC), the industry regulator, 65 greyhounds died on NSW tracks in 2022-23 compared with 51 the previous year.
Ms Field also asked, wouldn’t the large space at Wentworth Park, in the middle of an international city, where there’s a housing crisis, be better used for other purposes?
“There’s a government that’s funding dog racing when they’re trying to look for alternative areas for medium-density housing to support the influx of people coming into the city, or people that already live here and can’t afford housing,” she said.
“They’re putting money into dog racing on a very large plot of land that would be of much better use for other purposes.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore agreed, saying “Wentworth Park sits in the middle of one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Australia and is dominated by a greyhound racing track.”
“This parkland should be for the benefit of the community, not an industry that has admitted to killing up to 17,000 healthy dogs each year, has been shown to live-bait, and causes problem gamblers real suffering,” she continued.
“More space for community sport. More parkland. No more greyhound racing in the City of Sydney.”
