Greyhound Racing Victoria reminds all participants about their obligations under Greyhound Australasia (GA) Rule 124 which covers greyhound export requirements.
It is the responsibility of all registered participants to be aware of all rules and laws covering greyhound welfare including GA’s ‘Required Standards for Countries Seeking to Import Australian Greyhounds’ which GRV endorses.
This includes being aware of countries that don’t meet such standards and where GA Greyhound Passports will not be issued for exporters.
The welfare of the dogs that make the whole industry possible must be everyone’s first priority and that includes decisions about exporting them overseas.
GRV strongly opposes the export of Australian greyhounds to any country that does not have strong animal welfare controls and greyhound racing regulations in place.
All Victorian exporters should ensure that the countries they are exporting to have a highly regulated greyhound industry environment, overseen by an appropriate control body that sets the best possible standards of welfare for all racing greyhounds.
This must include strong and clear requirements covering animal welfare, accurate identification and record keeping and guidelines and support for appropriate end of career outcomes, such as re-homing programs so that retired racers can live out their lives as family pets.
The suspected exporting of dogs from Victoria to countries not compliant with GA standards is currently under investigation by GRV and anyone with knowledge of greyhound exports to China, Macau and Vietnam is urged to contact GRV’s Senior Integrity Manager on (03) 8329 1100.