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Palmy Panther

Greyhound Racing Banned in NSW

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1 hour ago, WhoKnows said:

Um......Sydney is in New South Wales, and the article has a lot to do with why it has been shut down.

Oh sorry I wasn't aware of that. I don't know to much about what cities are in what states in Australia.

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Sadly I think it is the beginning of the end of racing, all codes. I think in the future people will look back and think its barbaric to race animals , it is the changing nature of our society. I dont think theres any point in pointing the finger at other codes for their mistakes, doesnt justify anything. I would say there are a lot of dogs that get put down but nowhere near the numbers thrown around by the antis. They, by their own admission, sensationalize the situation for maximum impact and to ensure public support.  One thing I do know is that a very high percentage of greyhounds have a good life and are loved, we cant say that about the millions of animals slaughtered every day for our consumption. I have been involved with the industry for about 30years and there is some bad but mostly a lot of very passionate people that give an enormous amount of love to a very lovable and worthy animal.

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6 hours ago, DogMa said:

Sadly I think it is the beginning of the end of racing, all codes. I think in the future people will look back and think its barbaric to race animals , it is the changing nature of our society. I dont think theres any point in pointing the finger at other codes for their mistakes, doesnt justify anything. I would say there are a lot of dogs that get put down but nowhere near the numbers thrown around by the antis. They, by their own admission, sensationalize the situation for maximum impact and to ensure public support.  One thing I do know is that a very high percentage of greyhounds have a good life and are loved, we cant say that about the millions of animals slaughtered every day for our consumption. I have been involved with the industry for about 30years and there is some bad but mostly a lot of very passionate people that give an enormous amount of love to a very lovable and worthy animal.

Ma I do agree with you about the future of racing, I don't agree that is right but am pretty sure that will be the outcome. One day in the not too distant future all we will have is virtual racing where we participate on our computers then someone with nothing better to do will start a petition to say virtual racing is glorifying a horrific past. That will be the end of virtual racing as well after a number of petitions and all we will be able to do is sit and watch the Simpson's

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It amazes me in todays society how animalistic we humans have become,ie cage fighting ,watching sports players breaking bones in slowmo,the physical contact sports we have,mass shootings ,slaughter of children,drugs and general violence,the list goes on,but it is seen as cruel to let an animal do what it loves to do and is bred for.

Kids can play video games where they crash cars take drugs and murder people.

That spaceship to Mars is looking like a good option! lol

AC

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Exactly Craig, I remember when I was a wee fella (now that's a while ago) and learning about the terrible suffering in the Roman coliseums, I used to shudder at it and wonder how human beings could do that, but all this time later with all our education and luxury it is almost back to that. When Mark Hunt got knocked into cookooland by a brutal knee to his face a while back our 6 o'clock news showed about 5 different slow motion angles of the blow. Cage fighting being called a sport is a disgrace yet constantly makes the highlights in the media.

We are strange animals alright.

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This should be treated as a learning experience by greyhound industry leaders in nz    Instead of using energy in a negative way by moaning, those here should be demanding from industry leaders strategies  and systems so that this never happens here.   Do those in the greyhound industry here  really believe that all would be  fine and dandy should the  same intense scrutiny be applied to the nz industry?      Has greyhound racing nz the leadership,skills and will for this to happen?

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They have already had the scrutiny and had to deal with lies and deliberately twisted "statistics" and have put a huge amount into strategies and systems. The whole thing is a continuous improvement model that the NZGRA have every reason to be satisfied with.

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Thought you might have been interested in this article from the Daily Telegraph in NSW yesterday. Pretty apt summation of how things are.

Why banning greyhound racing hurts us all


Here we go. Yet another kneejerk “compassionate” response to a campaign by animal activists, as prosecuted by the ABC.

The NSW government’s decision to ban the doggies strikes at the very heart of the average, working Australian man. (Pic: Jay Town)
This time it’s the greyhound industry in NSW for the chopping block. With the authoritarian elitism that the modern Liberal party is making its hallmark, Premier Mike Baird has written off the livelihood and lifestyle of thousands of greyhound trainers, owners and breeders who love their dogs and take good care of them, not to mention the people who work at race tracks and pubs and dog food suppliers; and all the greyhound aficionados who go to watch the doggies and bet over $1billion every year.”

It’s hard to fathom the arrogance of squeamish city dwellers killing off a quintessentially Australian pastime they don’t understand.

The decision is driven by the sensibilities of vegan GetUp! activists, with nose piercings and psychological hangups, who loathe the culture that greyhounds represent – of male battlers in regional Australia hanging onto their dignity, whose main social interaction is a night at the doggies.

These men have been kicked in the teeth and marginalised by societal changes and “innovation”, which means job losses where they come from. They don’t have the choice in leisure pursuits available to the harbourside mansions set.

Baird and his cabinet signed the industry’s death warrant to signal their virtue. They thought they could get away with it because greyhound people are poor and powerless.


With his decision to ban greyhound racing, the NSW Premier Mike Baird has trashed the livelihoods of many. (Pic: Peter Lorimer)
‘This strikes at the very heart of the working man,” says Katrina Hodgkinson, from Cootamundra, one of four Nationals MP opposing their government’s shock decision.

“You can be as poor as a church mouse - and most country guys are – and you can still afford your own dog or become a partner in a syndicate.

“It’s a social network, the one activity to go to the local track on race night and catch up with people. It’s such a harmless activity but so important for a lot of guys who wouldn’t otherwise get a lot of socialising done. It keeps them sane.”

At the track they are somebody, like greyhound breeder Rob Ingram, owner of Sheara’s Mate, a giveaway dog who won 14 races at Wentworth Park and got him a write-up in the local paper.

“My dogs are my life,” says Ingram, who has fifty dogs on 100 acres at Tomingley, a tiny town of 330 people between Parkes and Dubbo.

He talks about his dogs like children. Old Mate Archie won $50,000 in prize money this year and kept his Windy Rest kennels afloat. Scooter, who wasn’t interested in racing, now has a “life on the lounge” with a woman called Natalie who adopted him through the Greyhounds as Pets organisation.


The flow on effects of the upcoming ban are a cause of great concern — particularly for the future of the thousands of dogs in the racing industry. (Pic: Vince Caligiuri/Getty)
For men like Ingram, greyhounds provide a place in a community with a purpose, where they feel valued.

And all of it has been casually trashed by the Premier.

Whether or not you’ve ever laid eyes on a greyhound, such interventionist government by Facebook fiat concerns us all.

It is a direct intrusion into the private sphere of human flourishing, as described by philosophers from Burke to Kirk. It’s not just the arbitrary eradication of an industry, but the destruction of a human community of friendships and community groups, social interactions passed down through generations, which can’t be replaced by compensation or “industry assistance”.

These are the pre-political institutions meant to be outside of government control, which are the glue that keeps society together. They are the local “little platoons” which make up a healthy society, and give people social identities which build together into a cohesive nation.

The government cites vaguely sourced statistics about dog “wastage” from a 13-month commission of inquiry that was dominated by the well-organised voice of animal activists but which rebuffed input from greyhound experts such as this newspaper’s own esteemed former greyhound writer Jeff Collison.

“I did not hear of anyone appearing at the judicial inquiry who had anything positive to say about the sport,” he says. “It seems the inquiry only heard from animal rights activists and their ilk.”


NSW Premier Mike Baird thought he could get away with the ban because greyhound people are poor and powerless. (Pic: AAP Image/Andi Yu)
The commission found the practice of “live-baiting” – training dogs to chase live rabbits or possums – was used by 20 per cent of trainers.

But why should the law-abiding 80 per cent be punished, asks Tony Glackin, President of the Dapto Greyhound Club, where Thursday night race meetings have been the heart and soul of the town for 80 years.

He accepts there are bad apples, as in any sport. “[Baird] said we can’t be reformed but we have to give it a try. We’ve already made massive strides.”

In the name of compassion the Premier has signed the death warrant of at least 10,000 dogs.

Retired dogs re-housed by the industry through Greyhounds as Pets can’t find enough homes as it is.

We’ll have a repeat of the slaughter in London when dog carting was abolished in the 1840s. In the first year the bloated bodies of 150,0000 dogs choked the Thames River.

NSW is only the beginning. The greyhound industry is under threat in every state and Animals Australia, the RSPCA and the ABC will keep hammering away until they destroy it.

The upshot will be a sea of dead dogs, and devastated humans.

And then the empowered animal activists will move on to their next targets – horse racing, then farm animals, then who knows what. They will not stop until we’re all vegan ciphers.
 

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Staff at dog tracks in NSW have been told they should go straight to the government if they want any money because there won't be any redundancy pay from the industry.

The Australian Workers Union says the ban will result in thousands of job losses, and the premier should expect that problem to land at his feet.

AWU state secretary Russ Collison says employers at Sydney's Richmond dog track are already telling staff to go to the government for help.

'They're saying: 'You won't be getting any redundancy off us - the government made the decision and if there's any money to be paid you're going to have to get it off the government',' he told AAP on Sunday.

'Thousands of people are going to be out of work and the majority of those will be in regional NSW.'

The comments come as greyhound breeders threaten to wage war on the NSW government's ban.

The Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) has hired former solicitor-general of Australia David Bennett to spearhead an expensive legal battle to save the industry.

GBOTA spokesman and Dubbo Greyhound Club president Shayne Stiff says the industry has tens of millions of dollars available to fund its court battle.

'I've had a lot of grown men crying yesterday, livelihoods, lives, family blood ... I don't think the government realised how many people this is hurting,' he said.

But the premier is not wavering and says while some innocent parties will suffer, they should aim their anger at those who engaged in and covered up cruel and barbaric practices, including live baiting and the mass slaughter of dogs.

He lamented the effect the ban would have on some communities but said his government was preparing a transition package, to be announced in coming months.

AAP

 

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The fight in NSW is gaining momentum with the support of the leading Talkback Radio show host and NRL broadcaster Ray Hadley who cut his teeth as a greyhound race caller.

http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/189446

The Federal Government is also talikng about a Senate Inquiry into the decision. For those that don't know the Australian Federal Government is held by the Labour Party, who fell in at the election just two weeks ago from the Liberal/National Party Coalition. The State of NSW is held by the Lib/Nat Coalition so there may be very Interesting times ahead.  

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