NSW Government Reverses Greyhound Racing Industry Ban
The NSW Government has today announced that it will back down from the greyhound racing industry ban that it legislated in August, after agreeing to a trial period in which the industry will be allowed to continue subject to a series of strict guarantees aimed at reducing animal cruelty.
Cabinet has reached an agreement with the NSW Greyhound Racing Industry Alliance – which was formed specifically to fight the ban and which now represents the industry – to allow racing to continue on the condition the industry bind itself to four enforceable guarantees, including to:
implement registration and life-cycle management policies for greyhounds bred for racing, including for those deemed unable to race
cap the number of greyhounds bred for racing in NSW
ban and introduce jail-term sentences for those found to be engaging in live animal baiting
introduce measures to reduce instances of racing injuries.
Instances of non-compliance with these conditions, which were proposed by the Industry Alliance, will be met with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
In addition to the conditions proposed by the Industry Alliance, the Government will also establish a new independent regulator for the industry. Former NSW Labor Premier Morris Iemma will chair a Greyhound Industry Reform Panel alongside members from the RSPCA and NSW Government, tasked with determining whether the more tightly regulated regime is effective.
In August, the NSW Government passed the Greyhound Racing Prohibition Act, which banned the industry from 1 July 2017. The Act came in response to the publication of a Special Commission of Inquiry two months earlier, chaired by former High Court judge Michael McHugh AC QC, which found overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty in the industry, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting.
Opponents of the ban argued the Government’s actions were unfair on the basis that there had been a lack of consultation, and that the industry had not been given sufficient time to reform itself following a report into greyhound racing in NSW by the ABC’s Four Corners program in 2015, launching a campaign to seek a repeal of the legislation.
The industry ban proved contentious in key rural seats, and there were indications the ban could affect the outcome of the upcoming Orange by-election. Orange has traditionally been a National Party stronghold, however there has been strong opposition to the ban in the State’s central west, including Orange.
The Greyhound Panel will report back to Cabinet by the end of 2016 and, depending on the outcome of its review, the Government will amend the Act to reverse the ban and permanently implement the new regime from next year.
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