Dear Victorian greyhound racing industry,

I would like to update you on some activity in the Victorian Parliament this week that directly impacts GRV and the Victorian greyhound racing industry.

On Wednesday, a motion put to the Victorian Legislative Council by the Animal Justice Party (AJP) was agreed to by a majority vote.

The motion calls on GRV to expand the depth and detail of key animal welfare and integrity data that is included in our future annual reports.

GRV has already taken proactive steps to breakdown welfare figures in the 2023-24 Annual Report, which has been submitted to government and is due to be tabled in parliament later this month. Those changes include a breakdown of euthanasia by reason, the publishing of deaths of registered greyhounds (not by euthanasia) and a full breakdown of race injuries, categorised by incapacitation periods.

In addition to seeking details on causes for euthanasia, which are already included in this year’s annual report, the motion seeks for GRV to include additional information on matters such as:

• deaths that occur as result of, and within 10 days of, an injury sustained in racing;
• a more detailed breakdown of non-GAP rehoming figures; and
• how many dogs test positive for each type of prohibited substance.

GRV strongly refutes claims made by the AJP and others that “GRV lies about its welfare figures”.

GRV remains as committed as ever, as we know the greyhound racing community in Victoria is as well, to the key priorities of greyhound welfare and maintaining the integrity of the industry. The Victorian greyhound racing industry’s record in achieving improvement in welfare and integrity outcomes over the past eight years speaks for itself.

The record of improvement is borne out by the following key facts:

• Over the past four years, total injuries in Victorian greyhound races have dropped more than 8 per cent
• Last racing season, more than 92 per cent of all of racing injuries were deemed by the officiating on-track veterinarian to be non-serious;
• The injuries that were deemed serious represent 2.46 injuries per 1000 starters (or 0.2 percent of all starters), a figure that is down year on year; and
• Fatality rates in Victorian races are down more than 47 percent on five years ago.

The substance of the motion is in many respects already in line with GRV’s commitment to transparency of data and initiatives already delivered or in progress in this space. It does not detract from our ongoing commitment and focus on continuing to strive for our goal of being a world class regulator and to lead, develop and regulate a responsible and sustainable greyhound racing industry in Victoria.

Regards,

Stuart Laing