1. Introduction This Review was commissioned by the Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Racing following the alleged incidents of live baiting of greyhounds shown on the Four Corners program on 16 February 2015. These practices have been universally condemned within the greyhound industry and beyond, and are illegal under a number of existing laws. enforcement. The terms of reference (see text Review’s box) focus on the adequacy of existing regulation and standards as well as the There are also broader questions of governance animal welfare outcomes in the and enforcement systems that are currently greyhound in place to ensure compliance with these industry. This Review also considers requirements. The questions for this welfare throughout a life and looks at dog’s Review were not what happened or how the rules, codes and standards in place to widespread these practices are, but why ensure animal welfare in the greyhound these practices industry. whether widespread or uncommon – – were not exposed by the regulatory The findings and recommendations bodies? presented aim to describe a path forward Do failures in the way the industry is for the greyhound industry in Victoria regulated, and the rules enforced, allow to ensure contemporary animal such activity to occur? These are questions welfare outcomes acceptable to the of governance, compliance and wider community are achieved.
1. Introduction This Review was commissioned by the Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Racing following the alleged incidents of live baiting of greyhounds shown on the Four Corners program on 16 February 2015. These practices have been universally condemned within the greyhound industry and beyond, and are illegal under a number of existing laws. The Review’s terms of reference (see text box) focus on the adequacy of existing regulation and standards as well as the governance and enforcement systems that are currently in place to ensure compliance with these requirements. The questions for this Review were not what happened or how widespread these practices are, but why these practices – whether widespread or uncommon – were not exposed by the regulatory bodies? Do failures in the way the industry is regulated, and the rules enforced, allow such activity to occur? These are questions of governance, compliance and enforcement. There are also broader questions of animal welfare outcomes in the greyhound industry. This Review also considers welfare throughout a dog’s life and looks at the rules, codes and standards in place to ensure animal welfare in the greyhound industry. The findings and recommendations presented aim to describe a path forward for the greyhound industry in Victoria to ensure contemporary animal welfare outcomes acceptable to the wider community are achieved.