Explosive report alleges ‘morass of exploitation and suffering’ in NSW greyhound racing

“It is important that the industry meets the highest standards of animal welfare and that concerns raised about important matters are appropriately addressed,” he told this masthead.

As rumours swirled about the document’s potential contents, GRNSW – which gets a slice of NSW gambling taxes – bought full-page ads in newspapers, including this masthead, in which it thanked the public for its “best year ever” and declared NSW had zero unnecessary euthanasia and a record rehoming of dogs.

In an email to senior members of the integrity commission, which was among the documents released to parliament on Tuesday, Macaulay described the communiqué as a “long and rambling dissertation”.

The documents show the integrity commission said some of the claims, such as lax veterinary care in some areas, should be investigated further. But it rejected others, including the allegation that hundreds of deaths were being hidden. It said Brittan misunderstood the figures.

Eight years have passed since former Coalition premier Mike Baird tried to ban greyhound racing after a report by a retired High Court judge found the industry had “fundamental animal welfare issues, integrity and governance failings that can not be remedied”.

Baird overturned the decision after a backlash from Labor and National Party MPs. He instead imposed welfare standards on the industry and established the regulator, GWIC.

But Brittan’s statement – a handover briefing which he compiled after finishing his nine-month tenure at the industry body, at the request of its human resources department – said little had changed and that industry leaders knew they could never rehome enough greyhounds.

“The industry continues to over-produce exhausted greyhounds that are no longer able to race,” it said. “They are not being rehomed, despite massive PR campaigns to promote the effectiveness of GRNSW rehoming policies.”

Brittan’s report includes internal data that said the true number of greyhound deaths in 2023 was 3384, more than three times as many as the 970 deaths by euthanasia, natural causes or accidents that were publicly reported by GWIC.

The document said this was partly because the commission was discovering old deaths when it conducted its census. “This is in effect a dead greyhound amnesty,” the report said. However, GWIC rejected this and said the issue was due to the transference of data from one system to another.

It told this masthead an audit had confirmed 961 deaths in the financial year.

Brittan also questioned rehoming numbers, saying 4000 dogs were entering the industry each year but only about 1500 a year were rehomed and many spent the rest of their lives in “commercial/industrial caged facilities for a weekly boarding fee”.

GWIC’s rehoming figures were still lower than the 2000 publicised by the industry body, a discrepancy Brittan attributed to Greyhound Racing NSW’s use of the term “assisted to pet life”, which he said was the name of a financial subsidy to prepare the dog for potential rather than actual rehoming.

‘This is unacceptable – the community will not tolerate systemic animal cruelty for gambling profits.’

Emma Hurst, Animal Justice Party MP

“The greyhound goes to the vet, gets de-sexed, is picked up by its owner and taken back to its home, where it waits for a rehoming that will likely never come,” the document said.

The GRNSW target of 2800 rehomed greyhounds for 2023 was “not possible ... If proper accounting procedures are followed”, the letter said, adding that thousands of greyhounds remained trapped in the industry. “The internal [acceptance] is that this hidden population is ... an unsolvable problem.”

GWIC told this masthead it estimated about 4000 greyhounds would need rehoming in the next year.

Brittan also called on GRNSW to repeal a travel allowance of $60 per dog per race, saying it was incentivising people to race more dogs more often and increasing track injuries by a factor of more than 16, leading to the greatest increase in the rate of race injuries “in the history of greyhound racing in NSW”.

He also recommended minimum race frequency be set at four days “rather than the barbaric current level of two days”, a period in which he said it was physiologically impossible for a dog to recover. This masthead attempted to contact Brittan without success.

Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, who sought the document through parliamentary processes, described the allegations as damning and called for an investigation.

“This is unacceptable – the community will not tolerate systemic animal cruelty for gambling profits,” she said. “It’s a disturbing state of affairs that sounds eerily similar to 2015 when this industry was first exposed.”

A spokesperson for GRNSW said it took any claim or concern related to animal welfare or the integrity of rehoming programs seriously and noted former Victoria Police commissioner Graham Ashton was leading a review. “It would not be appropriate for GRNSW to comment further while Mr Ashton’s review is ongoing,” they said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Harris said the government “noted the changes in management at GRNSW”.

“As minister for gaming and racing, I am committed to supporting a competitive, responsible and sustainable greyhound racing industry, with the highest standards of animal welfare and integrity,” he said.

“The NSW government will continue to work with GRNSW and greyhound racing participants to ensure the viability and longevity of the industry in NSW.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.