Tuesday, 12 August 2025

Greyhound racing

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (13:55): Recently I received a very positive and welcome letter sharing the news that most greyhound racing tracks in the United States have now closed their doors. That letter was co-signed by 14 American lawmakers, including federal senators and Congress and state representatives from both major parties. They outlined how what was once a widespread industry across 19 states has been reduced to just two operational tracks in West Virginia. The letter told me:

… the effort to end dog racing and help protect greyhounds has been a remarkably bipartisan effort.

Specific animal welfare concerns about injury, neglect, doping and the killing of healthy dogs deemed no longer profitable were central to these lawmakers’ case for reform. They also wrote that America is:

… not only outlawing greyhound racing itself, we are ending remote wagering on dog races, including Australian races.

The closure of dog tracks has also proven to be an economic opportunity, they tell me, as former racing tracks are repurposed in ways that benefit local communities – housing, schools, municipal facilities and more. If the United States, a country with such a long history of greyhound racing, can move decisively in a bipartisan way towards ending it, then Victoria can and should follow suit. It is time we all put the welfare of dogs ahead of gambling profits.

In fact just this weekend the Tasmanian government has also announced it will end its funding for greyhound racing in the state by 2029, effectively winding up the industry. It is way past time that here in Victoria we do the same.