Australia

Dead greyhounds listed as ‘retired’ on racing website


Greyhound rescuers have accused Victoria’s racing body of obscuring data on the fate of retired racing dogs, as an ABC investigation reveals gaps in the industry’s life-cycle tracking system.

In July 2019, racing stewards discovered the carcasses of four greyhounds in a pit at a rural property south-east of Melbourne.

This story contains an image that may distress readers.

The stewards allege the dogs were “bludgeoned to death” and “buried in a pit” sometime between May and July; their owner, who has pleaded not guilty to 12 racing offences, is due to face the tribunal over the matter this month.

But when the racing names of the four deceased dogs are plugged into Victoria’s greyhound database, each one is listed as “retired”.

“It’s not accurate,” said Emma, a volunteer who has rehomed dozens of former racing greyhounds over the past five years. 

Greyhound rescuer Emma says Victoria’s racing data needs to be more transparent.(

ABC Regional Investigations: Charlotte King

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“How are we to have faith in this industry, that they are caring for these dogs, and … making sure that they’re rehomed and live happy and fulfilling lives after their career, when there’s no … transparency?”

With more than 7,000 greyhounds participating in Victoria’s race program each year, the state has the biggest jurisdiction in the world.

Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) says the industry has been completely overhauled since the live-baiting scandal in 2015.

Since 2016, the RSPCA has worked with the racing body to bring 10 cases before the courts relating to breaches of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and a further five matters are pending prosecution.

Millions of dollars have been invested into improving welfare and enforcement and the Victorian government says the euthanasia rates have fallen by 85 per cent since 2014-15.  

But Emma, not her real name, is concerned the industry is still disguising the grim outcomes that many dogs face at the end of their careers, through public data that is inaccurate.

The rescuer wants to remain anonymous so she does not jeopardise her ability to collect unwanted greyhounds from licensed trainers and owners in the industry.

“There are properties that I’ve been to where these dogs are kept in a shed with no light. They have no fresh air. They are literally living in their own faeces and their own urine,” she said.

“It’s heart-breaking.”

A brindle greyhound lies on a couch with a blanket.
“Nanna” was adopted from a greyhound owner after six years of retirement.(

Supplied

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“Nanna” was a racing dog that spent the bulk of her retirement at a property covered in rubbish on Melbourne’s outskirts.

“It was basically like a dump,” said Emma, “she had a bulge on her neck that obviously hadn’t been treated, her nails were really overgrown, almost to the point of deforming her feet.”

Within weeks of adopting the 10-year-old in December 2019, Emma said another dog on the same property was mauled by two other greyhounds and later died.

The ABC understands the surviving dogs involved in the attack were surrendered to the RSPCA. It is believed the dogs were ultimately euthanased, after failing behavioural tests.

All three greyhounds are also listed as “retired” on GRV’s FastTrack database.

A photo of a greyhound lying in grass. Part of its torso is bloody.
The ABC understands this greyhound was mauled at a property on Melbourne’s outskirts in 2020.(

Supplied

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“I think it’s just important that we know where these dogs have gone,” Emma said.

“And I also think it’s important for the public to know the reality of the industry, and what’s really happening, and not for it to just be sugar-coated, or kind of concealed in a way to make people feel comfortable about it.

Victoria’s FastTrack database has other listings that defy the laws of nature.

One Tasmanian racing dog, Ramona, whelped in 1985, is still listed on the database as “retired”.

If it was alive, the greyhound would be more than 35 years old. The average life expectancy for a greyhound is 12-14 years.  

“GRV’s internal FastTrack portal is more dynamic than the public-facing one,” a Greyhound Racing Victoria spokeswoman said in a statement to the ABC.

“FastTrack externally displays a greyhound which is no longer in the racing industry as ‘Retired’. Data available to GRV is more detailed about the retirement subcategory.”

at Cannington.
Greyhound Racing Victoria says the industry has been overhauled since the live-baiting scandal.(

Facebook: Greyhounds WA

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The industry body told the ABC it used the internal “retirement subcategories” to collate its annual report each year, which it said was “the official record of data at the time of publishing”.

“The databases that we’re drawing from are valid, the conclusions which we’re drawing are valid,” said GRV’s chief executive Alan Clayton.

He said the Victorian industry had the strongest integrity measures in the country.

“We know every dog that races. All participants are required to register themselves and all of their dogs into our major system called FastTrack, so we have every dog recorded in our system.

“We know the whole kit and caboodle of what’s happening in the system,” he said.

But critics argue the figures in the annual reports do not provide the full picture of what happens to dogs when they have finished racing.

A fawn-coloured greyhound rests on a tartan blanket.
The RSPCA says more data is needed to provide transparency about greyhounds from birth to death.(

Supplied: RSPCA

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Liz Walker, chief executive of the RSPCA, which sits on GRV’s welfare advisory board, said there was still work to be done around transparency in the industry. 

A greyhound in an enclosure.
Greyhound rescuers say retired racing dogs are not tracked after their careers, leaving them vulnerable to cruelty.(

Supplied

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“So there’s some more information around data that I think we need to know to make sure that we’re really clear on the animals that are in the industry, and very, very clear that we’ve got end-to-end, birth-to-death transparency on the dogs.”

Julia Cockram, who works to rehome greyhounds from properties across the state and is a member of the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, said there was no doubt more dogs were being adopted now than ever before.

But she said there were broad welfare concerns over the treatment of dogs once they were no longer racing.

“There’s no tracking after that.” 

But Greyhound Racing Victoria’s chief executive said retired dogs that remained on the properties of owners or trainers were still on their radar, and that the racing body had overall responsibility for their welfare.

“That’s one of the reasons why we’ve had a large team of staff; that’s why we put an additional $10 million into integrity and animal welfare — so we had the capacity to enforce.”

A government spokesman said they welcomed the improvements achieved in greyhound racing since 2016 and continued “to support Greyhound Racing Victoria’s work in this regard”.

“Detailed data on greyhound retirement is provided in GRV’s annual report, which is appropriate.”



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