RUMOURS of widespread live baiting and the killing of under-performing dogs may prove a death knell for the greyhound racing industry, says long-term greyhound breeder and former trainer Greg Board.
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Mr Board, who has been in the industry for 45 years, said he had never witnessed the use of live baits and had never put down a dog because it was too slow.
His comments come as an inquiry into the NSW greyhound racing industry heard up to 17,000 healthy greyhounds were killed every year and small animals were used as live bait in training dogs.
Mr Board said the inquiry had prompted a knee-jerk reaction throughout Australia with calls to close down the industry.
“A minority have done the wrong thing, but they shouldn’t be looking at closing the industry down,” he said.
Mr Board, whose Spring Hill property is home to about 50 dogs, disputed the number of dogs that were killed each year and claimed the death toll would be closer to 3000, including those that had died as the result of an accident or natural causes.
He said the death rate was higher in the horse racing industry.
“There are too many people talking about this who don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said.
“I don’t know anyone in the industry who doesn’t love dogs.”
Mr Board said only a very small minority of people did the wrong thing.
“This whole thing has been blown out of proportion,” he said.
“I’ve never even heard rumours of people using live baiting.
“I use rags, onion bags or skins to train my dogs.”
Mr Board said he had trained a lot of winning dogs over the years but, after a battle with cancer two years ago, he stopped training to concentrate on breeding and breaking dogs in before passing them on to trainers.
His dogs are housed in two large air-conditioned sheds and he used a combustion wood heater to keep them warm in winter.
One of the sheds contains dogs for breeding, alongside about 15 retired dogs.
Mr Board said he could not part with his retired dogs and planned to keep them until they died of natural causes.
He said dogs that were not fast enough to race were often rehomed.
“If they’re too slow, they get a good home,” he said.
Mr Board said the bad reputation of a few people in the industry had caused problems for the entire industry.
“They should make an example of the people who have done the wrong things, crack down on them, why punish everyone else?” he asked.
Mr Board said the greyhound fraternity was an extremely generous group, which routinely donated money to charities and “people down on their luck”.
“Money is also given to help hospitals and schools,” he said.
Mr Board said many dogs who were not fast enough to compete in large city meets could often have success on country tracks and provide a fun hobby for families to enjoy.
“There’s less prizemoney but it’s good for people who just enjoy having the dogs,” he said.
Mr Board said the majority of people in the industry knew it would not make them rich, with some race wins returning as little as $150.
He said greyhound racing was a good outlet for retired people who wanted something to do and a “reason to get out of bed in the morning”.
Mr Board said people pushing for an end to greyhound racing needed to consider the fate of the thousands of dogs involved.
“What would happen to the dogs then, that’s the big question?” he said.
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au