The racing death of a greyhound at the Casino track has shown that a new scheme to prevent on-track deaths has failed, say animal welfare advocates.
According to the Casino stewards’ report for 2 November 2023, in Race 3 Clover Energy collided with another dog at the first turn and suffered a ‘compound fracture on the offside hind leg’.
Although the report does not mention death, the injury is classed as Category E, defined as any “greyhound that died during a race or was euthanased by the officiating veterinarian due to the catastrophic nature of the injury sustained.”
Clover Energy died six days short of her fourth birthday, had run 37 races, and won $8,040. She was forced to race at both Casino and Ipswich in Queensland.
The race video shows Clover Energy running at speed across the finish line.
Three dogs have died racing at Casino this year, one more than in 2022.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) said the greyhound racing industry’s efforts to stop the surge in racing injuries were failing and a smokescreen for ongoing animal suffering.
Greyhound Racing NSW launched the Greyhound Care Scheme 2.0 on 1 July to, in the words of CEO Rob Macaulay, “ensure each and every one of our greyhounds get the greatest of care.” He described it as a “significant moment for the industry.”
The GRNSW chief vet describes GCS 2.0 as “overly generous and inclusionary”, ensuring that “all seriously injured greyhounds receive the very best medical and surgical treatments” at “5 star” vet hospitals.
However, since 1 July 2023:
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Eight dogs have died while racing on NSW tracks
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In the 37-day period 26 September-2 November, five dogs have been euthanased at NSW tracks with treatable broken legs
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Dapto track is trialling another “safety” initiative, a double-arm lure. Two dogs were killed racing there on 19 October.
Despite a $30 million publicly-funded NSW track safety upgrade program, total Category D serious injuries have increased 39% year-on-year for the Jan-Oct 2023 period. So far in 2023, 38 dogs have died racing on NSW tracks.
Quotes attributed to Kylie Field, NSW director, CPG:
‘Clover Energy is the latest victim of a cruel industry,’ the NSW Director of the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds.
‘She was alternately raced at Casino and Ipswich, a return trip of more than 400km. You can imagine the stress she would have experienced.
‘Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous and tracks can’t be made safe. It now looks like the much-promoted Greyhound Care Scheme 2.0 has already failed, swamped by the rising number of badly injured dogs.’
‘There needs to be an independent review of the scheme. The racing industry is poorly regulated and needs independent oversight from a welfare-centric group like the RSPCA.’
When is this horrible industry going to be banned?
Making money from animals with disregard for their long-term well being is disturbing.
I have two greyhounds, a 6yr old male and 5yr old female. Both sustained torn ligiaments when racing. The male ran 57 races and was put back to race after the first injury and sustained further injury. The female ran 38 and also sustained injury..
The people working in this industry, would benefit from Tafe retraining and phsycholigical assessment to determine where they are best suited in the duture alternative workplace.
It is time to BAN all Gov subsidies to an organisation that promotes animal cruelty in the name of profit.
Disgusting indefensible pastime
No recreational sport is free from risk, both human and animal.
Do we close-down these activities because someone in injured or killed, EG in AFL, RL, cricket or even ice-hockey?
We don’t.
The true aim of all animal rights organisations is always crystal clear.
Looks like you missed the big difference between humans and animals. Humans make their choices. Humans accept the risk and mitigate. Humans are not owned and forced to perform for others to gamble on them. The only mitigation in the greyhound industry is a straight track… where are the straight tracks?
No straight tracks? ….Then no industry. Go gamble on cage fighters with a death wish instead
That’s an interesting utopian idea regarding change-over to straight greyhound tracks.
Corners on oval tracks are a cause of toe and other injuries.
But the main problem of this idea will be the extra expense & space needed for your proposal, plus the negative spectator viewing aspect.
Changing all greyhound/trotting tracks to linear will of course effectively close them down.
Which brings me neatly back to my final comment (above) on the true aims of AR activists.
Not a “Utopian idea”. If it were a Utopian idea, there would be no animal exploitation and cruelty.
The most common untreatable injury is fracture to the tarsus, not a “toe”, almost certainly resulting in the poor injured dog being euthanised, and very rarely rehabilitated or retired.
FYI, the straight track preference is actually professional collective position of specialist treating veterinarians giving evidence at the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry NSW in 2016. They showed that no fractures have ever been recorded at the straight tracks being used in Australia – Appin, Capalaba or Healesville. The full report – all 767 pages – is freely available.
Life-ending injuries can be reduced by having grass tracks, increasing the distance from the starting boxes to the first turn, and building embankments into turns. The fact that these recommendations from the Inquiry have not been implemented SEVEN years later demonstrates a complete lack of commitment to animal welfare.
Wow, that you believe a negative spectator viewing experience from a straight track is more important than preventing life-ending injuries shows how out of touch with reality greyhound racing proponents actually are. Why are there straight tracks at all then?
Industries operating without welfare considerations are being shut down and regulated out of existence all the time. Greyhounds should be no different.
PS, I’m not one of your so-called derogatory “Animal Rights” activists, merely an objective empathic dog-loving observer, taking a logical evidence-based position. Consider THAT next time you’re gambling on the life of a dog at Casino or Lismore
The main problem over straight dog-tracks is the extra m2 space (= $ millions in acquisition costs) required over current ovals.
As I indicated before, this will close down most of the tracks. Job done.
Re-location outside the urban areas may be cheaper, but counter-productive for punters, spectators and owners.
Unless the State provides the cash for extensions in these now expensive urban areas, it’s unlikely to ever happen.
[Quote: ‘Next time you’re gambling on the life of a dog at Casino or Lismore’. M Clarke – I think Lismore was closed post 2022 flooding, but in reality, no-one actively gambles on dog or horse-deaths. To maintain such an emotive stance is being an unwitting “Useful Idiot” for the overall animal-rights campaigns.]