Greyhound trampled and euthanised in Christchurch

Ōtautahi - A greyhound was trampled on and euthanised after a race at Addington raceway in Christchurch yesterday.

The dog collided with other dogs and tumbled shortly after reaching the lure, having just crossed the finish line, animal welfare organisation SAFE says.

He was trampled by four other dogs, which caused injury to his right front leg. The dog could be seen limping after the fall and was later euthanised at the track.

The race footage shows several dogs jostling for the lure, which led to the dog’s fall and subsequent injuries.

Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous, which is well documented by two independent reviews of the industry, SAFE says.

In 2017, the Hanson report found greyhound racing dangerous, which was repeated in the recent Robertson review, published in 2021.

Racing Minister Grant Robertson has since given the greyhound racing industry until the end of 2022 to make improvements to transparency, data recording and animal welfare, or risk closure.

Her says issues which need to be addressed are data recording, transparency of all activities, and animal welfare generally.

Greyhound racing is legal in just seven countries in the world. A ban in the Australian Capital Territory came into force in April 2018, followed by a ban in Florida, USA, in November 2018.

SAFE says 262 dogs died during the 2020-21 season and 1059 were injured. During the 2019/2020 season, 246 dogs died and 1062 were injured.

Campaigners in Scotland are call for a complete ban on greyhound racing with some dogs found drugged with cocaine.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain reported an estimated 18,345 dogs are injured annually from racing in the UK.