Greyhound Welfare

Greyhound Racing Victoria and Greyhound Welfare

Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has been a leader in animal welfare within the racing industry for a number of years and takes the issue of greyhound welfare very seriously.

Through the industry-run Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), GRV has re-homed more than 5000 retired racing greyhounds and last year achieved a record of 536 adoptions.

GRV has further extended the reach of GAP through a collaborative adoption scheme with the RSPCA that sees greyhounds from the program adopted through various RSPCA shelters across Victoria. This initiative has been extremely successful thus far and the current adoption trend for the 2014/15 Financial Year indicates GRV is on record pace again.

In addition to the renowned adoption program, GRV has strict penalty guidelines for any welfare-related offence that provide a suggested sentence for breaches of the rules of racing. These strict penalty guidelines have been introduced to act as a deterrent as well as crystallise the importance of greyhound welfare among members.

In 2013, GRV and Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) developed an overarching National Welfare Strategy that was adopted by all Australian greyhound racing bodies in May 2014. The Joint Strategy is aimed at providing the best possible outcomes for greyhounds across all state jurisdictions at all stages of their lives and introduces a number of breeding, racing, education and monitoring programs to achieve this goal.

The GRV Board approved an extra $2.7 million in funding for greyhound welfare related initiatives in 2013 that included a provision for the recruitment of three new staff members to the greyhound welfare department.

The Greyhound Welfare arm of the Integrity, Racing and Welfare Department is responsible for the education of industry participants in regard to their welfare requirements and is also responsible for educating participants how they can ensure their properties compliant with the Code of Practice for the Operation of Greyhound Establishments.

GRV underwent a vast strategic planning process in late 2013 and through the development of the plan confirmed Greyhound Welfare as a priority initiative. GRV has committed significant resources and money to ensure the best possible welfare outcomes for the greyhounds.