Aussies love a punt! However, the Four Corners program that went...

Aussies love a punt! However, the Four Corners program that went to air yesterday evening highlighted the hidden horrors of the Australian greyhound racing industry. Rumours of live baiting rings have abounded, since the practice was banned decades ago.1 Trainers might choose to use live baiting in the belief that it increases the performance of greyhounds, with the lure of increased race winnings.2 The property of a top Queensland trainer, Tom Noble, was the catalyst for an investigation by police across the three mainland eastern States last week.3 The “stench of death” alerted a witness to contact police, according to the show.4

The top echelons of the sport are allegedly involved, including a former Deputy Chief Steward for Greyhound Racing Victoria, now racing grader for the Victorian regulator.5 All up, more than seventy greyhound trainers have been implicated using secret Four Corners footage of dogs being encouraged to chase live piglets, possums or rabbits to their death.6 As a result, at least twenty people have been suspended from the industry across Australia.7 Among these is a well-known NSW trainer, who had previously denied on television that live baiting occurs, and was heard in his distinctive voice encouraging others to tear a baby possum apart.8

In the light of these revelations, the question is: are the penalties tough enough? All Australian jurisdictions can impose terms of imprisonment, ranging from one year in the Northern Territory to five years in New South Wales; they can also impose fines ranging from $13,700 to $100,000 for individuals and up to $500,000 for companies for animal cruelty offences, depending on the jurisdiction.9 Suspension or banning are other options for the sport’s regulators in each State.

One reason such penalties do not work as a deterrent, as mentioned on Four Corners, is the difficulty of detecting offences, as they often occur in remote farms or training facilities. Another might be the lure of big money if a trainer’s dogs go on to win. A woman within the industry, who identified herself only as Simone on Triple J’s Hack show, this afternoon highlighted yet another possible reason – denial. She explained she thought she “was perhaps too trusting of others in greyhound racing”, but argued “this is our livelihood, our family’s livelihood…don’t tar us all with the same brush.”10

The Victorian Government Racing Minister, Martin Pakula, announced yesterday it would support any necessary legislative amendments to increase Greyhound Racing Victoria’s ability to detect and investigate illegal activity.11 However, the systemic nature of these practices within the industry suggest that might be insufficient. The industry should be shut down pending a thorough investigation, and at the very least a credible independent body such as the RSPCA should be authorised to conduct random, unannounced audits of registered greyhound training and breeding facilities.

- Shayne Beckham LLB

Footnotes

1. ABC Television, ‘Making a Killing’, Four Corners, 16 Feb 2015 (Caro Meldrum-Hanna and Sam Clark) <http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/02/16/4178920.htm>.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Tom Minnear, Andrea Hamblin & Daryl Timms, ‘Claims Rabbits Used as Live Bait for Greyhounds, Sparking Investigation’, Herald-Sun (Online), 17 Feb 2015 < http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/la...ng-investigation/story-fni0fee2-1227221685967>.
8. See above nn 2-6.
9. RSPCA, RSPCA Knowledge Base, http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-are-the-penalties-for-animal-cruelty-offences_271.html
10. Neil Keene, ‘Greyhound Racing’s Dark Secret: Four Corners reveals live piglets, rabbits and native wildlife used to ‘blood’ dogs for track’, The Daily Telegraph (Online), 17 Feb 2015 < http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...d-dogs-for-track/story-fni0cx12-1227221365803>.
11. See above n 7.