Why does the working man's sport have to be banned?

The ban on greyhound racing in NSW

What nobody seems to be mentioning is that greyhound racing is the working man's sport.  You have to be pretty well off to own a racehorse but anyone can own a dog.  A dog with strong prospects will not be cheap but lots of outsiders get up so a small investment can get you into the excitement.  So lots of families do have a greyhound.  They are very docile animals and make great pets.  So you can head off each weekend with your family pet and enter into the enthusiastic world of dog racing.  It makes you a somebody in a way that you might not otherwise be able to do.

But all that must now stop in NSW.  Why?  Why is it the little guy who is getting shafted again?  Basically because the conservative NSW government cannot be bothered to enforce the law.  The Leftist governments in Victoria and Queensland seem to have remembered for once that they represent the workers and have ruled out any ban.

There is no doubt that the practice of live baiting is cruel and that there will always be some temptation to do it.  There is a general belief that it does make the dogs run faster if they are pursuing a live rabbit.  But live baiting is already illegal and the greyhound clubs are making a big effort to end the practice.  All it needs is some serious police work to put some teeth into the ban.  Higher penalties could also be considered.

The other issue is the culling of unsuccessful greyhounds.  There are campaigns in place that ask people to adopt a dog that is too slow to win anything but the uptake is far less than the available dogs -- so lots of "slow" greyhounds are put down. That is certainly a cause for grief among the many of us who love dogs -- and I speak as a former registered dog breeder (though not of greyhounds).

But the sad truth is that unwanted cats and dogs of all kinds are put down all the time by the RSPCA and other animal shelters worldwide.  We should certainly insist that all cats and dogs of any kind are put down humanely but put down many will be.  Animal fecundity guarantees it -- and there is no dodging of that. So I do not see that putting down greyhounds is any different to putting down any other animal.

I commend the State governments of Victoria and my own home state of Queensland for their more balanced approach and urge the Premier of NSW to rethink his class war -- JR


A veteran greyhound breeder in NSW says a lot of innocent people are going to lose their livelihoods because of the state government's decision to ban the multi-million-dollar greyhound racing industry next year.

Paul Wheeler, Australia's largest greyhound breeder and owner, says the government has underestimated the number of people who will be out of a job when the ban comes into effect.

"I'm almost at the end of my working life but my son is in his mid-30s with a young family, what does he do? How does he replace his income?," Wheeler said on Sky Sports Radio on Friday.

"He's done nothing else but this all his life and so have some of the staff I've got.

"I've got two young girls working for us, they're teenagers, this is their first job from school and they've both got loans and got a car. They're terrified. They don't know what they're going to do."
A veteran greyhound breeder in NSW says a lot of innocent people are going to lose their livelihoods © AAP Image/Alexandra Patrikios A veteran greyhound breeder in NSW says a lot of innocent people are going to lose their livelihoods

Wheeler, a third-generation family business owner based in Young, says the entire industry is being punished for the actions of few.

"There's a few people (who have) done the wrong thing. We're all prepared to admit that, but there's a lot of good people out there and a lot of people are going to be hurt real bad," Wheeler said.

He believes the report of the special commission is flawed, saying in his 50 years in the industry he's never heard of the so-called prominent greyhound trainer who was interviewed by the commission and stated that live baiting was widespread.

"I don't know where they've got their advice from," Wheeler said.

"A lot of stuff that's been said in this commission, in my opinion, is hogwash," he added, after saying the report incorrectly noted that the majority of US states have banned greyhound racing.

SOURCE.  More detail here

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