Australian state bans greyhound racing after scandals

SYDNEY: Australia's greyhound industry was reeling Thursday after the country's most populous state banned the sport after a string of scandals including "live baiting" and the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs.

New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said the industry appeared incapable of reform and his government would work toward a shutdown from July 1 next year.

"Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the US and is legal in only eight countries around the world. New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to ban it," he said on Facebook.

"I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand-by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals."

Australia has one of the world's largest greyhound racing industries and live baiting has been banned for decades.

But last year national broadcaster ABC exposed that animals such as piglets, rabbits and possums were used as bait to train some of the country's most successful dogs.

It sparked an inquiry by New South Wales, which Baird said found the mass killing of dogs considered too slow to pay their way, widespread live baiting and systemic deception of the public about the numbers of deaths and injuries.

"One of the issues we have had to wrestle with is the positive impact of the greyhound racing industry," said Baird, pointing out it employed more than 1,000 people in New South Wales.

"Dog racing can be an important part of the social fabric of regional towns. And, of course, having a punt on the dogs over a few beers is good fun for many people."

But he said that having weighed up the benefits, the negatives were too great to ignore.

The New South Wales inquiry is one of several investigations into greyhound racing around Australia.

It revealed that in the last 12 years, up to 68,000 dogs were killed because they were seen as unsuitable for racing, while some 10 to 20 percent of trainers were suspected of live baiting.

The inquiry also found that an estimated 180 greyhounds a year sustain injuries such as skull fractures or broken backs during races that led to their immediate deaths, a statistic "deliberately misreported" by Greyhound Racing NSW.