The location, custody and medical history of Victorian greyhounds throughout their lives will now be better understood thanks to a more than $2 million investment by GRV and the Victorian government into a new Whole Of Life Digital Tracking Program.

The important welfare initiative, which will provide a traceable footprint of all Victorian greyhounds, will mean the location and health of all registered greyhounds will be recorded in one consolidated digital platform from birth, throughout their racing career and into retirement and rehoming.

The government is providing $1.67 million to the project, with GRV also contributing $418,000. Design and planning for the program is currently underway, with the new system expected to be rolled out in phases and fully implemented by 2026.

Greyhound tracking is already undertaken by GRV as part of its regulatory responsibilities through multiple mandatory check-ins, including before pups are microchipped at 12 weeks, when greyhounds are named, every time they race, trial or breed, when they move between participant properties, during official kennel inspections and when they retire and are rehomed.

However, many of these check-ins currently rely on manual recording processes that are time consuming and at risk of human error.

The new digital greyhound tracking program will implement digital systems for greyhound check-ins, real-time recording of microchip scanning and location information and improve the frequency and range of opportunities for participants to digitally check in their greyhounds across all lifecycle stages.

Under the new system, an average racing greyhound will now have around 60 hard touch points and 11 soft touch points throughout their career. That includes a minimum of 36 pre-race scans and 40 on-track vet checks, each of the greyhound’s annual vaccinations, at desexing and when they’re rehomed.

Greyhounds that don’t race will still average seven hard touch points and nine soft touch points before being rehomed.

“The digital greyhound tracking program will leverage existing capability and programs and introduce a suite of opportunities to increase the number of check-in points required for the tracking of registered greyhounds throughout their life,” GRV chief executive Stuart Laing said.

“With the support of the Victorian government, this program will further improve GRV’s capability to monitor, track and assure the welfare of Victorian greyhounds.”

Victorian racing minister Anthony Carbines said the investment highlighted government’s commitment to greyhound racing in Victoria.

“We are backing Greyhound Racing Victoria to improve its oversight of the health of greyhounds throughout their life as part of our commitment to continue to improve welfare outcomes for all racing animals,” Minister Carbines said.

“This system will revolutionise the way that registered greyhounds are tracked across the industry, providing real-time updates on the status of an animal at every key touchpoint.”