Saddened and Shocked: Live Baiting

New Zealand’s Greyhound racing body have released a statement distancing themselves from the live baiting scandal that's sweeping through Australia.

After complaints from industry insiders and animal activists, 16+ prominent Greyhound trainers were caught by hidden cameras attaching piglets, guinea pigs, rabbits and other small animals to the mechanical lure for greyhounds to chase.

The practice is called “blooding”. It screened to a shocked Australian public on ABCs Four Corners current affairs show on Monday.

6 NSW greyhound trainers as well as 10 in Victoria plus several in Queensland have all been stood down after investigations by the RSPCA.

In Australia the practice is punishable under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 and can result in a jail term of up to two years plus fines of up to Au$30,000.

Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) announced that a task-force will investigate live baiting within the NSW greyhound industry. Similar efforts are likely in other Australian states.

The unfortunate reality is that no amount of investigations will fix the damage done to public perceptions of Greyhounds.

Even though 16+ trainers may end up in jail and are now banned from the industry, public perceptions of Greyhounds as violent canines are likely to linger. Greyhound adoptions in Australia are also likely to suffer as a direct result.

Dealing with the large numbers of Greyhounds owned by the banned trainers (many of whom own upwards of 70 dogs) could also create a double-whammy.

Now they're banned from racing, they'll struggle to afford to keep their dogs. 

Many will have little choice but to put a large number of Greyhounds up for adoption. Doing so when public perceptions of these gentle and loyal animals is at an all time low will probably see many euthanised.

Footage from the Four Corners expose makes for pretty harrowing viewing (viewer discretion is advised).  As a greyhound owner and an animal lover, I found it deeply upsetting. That a small number of people could put money ahead of animals to create this dire situation in which so many hounds will lose their lives is despicable. Years of work done by so many to change public perceptions of Greyhounds has now been undone.

Posts are already surfacing in Greyhound forums with Australian Greyhound owners posting that they're getting accosted by people on the street who are asking how they can own such "violent" dogs (check out http://www.reddit.com/r/Greyhounds/comments/2w82db/australias_live_baiting/) as an example.

The reality is of course the complete opposite. Most Greyhounds I’ve ever met have been more interested in hogging the sofa than being aggressive towards anyone. Some may chase cats and other animals but after 4+ years of chasing a lure around a race track its easy to see why this happens.  If you’ve read any of my previous blog entries you’ll also know that while my two hounds may not be saints, they’re no danger to anyone.

So what can we take out of this horrible situation? If anything it’s this:

Blame the people not the dogs.  Greyhounds make excellent pets. they're gentle, intelligent, loyal and lazy. Please don’t let the despicable acts for a few idiots change your views of these beautiful animals.