greyhound racing....the 4 corners story

i watched the story & am horrified at what i watched, i remember dog handlers & trainers telling me years ago when i used to go to the dogs frequently, ''that he's had a kill yesterday'' not realizing until last night what it meant, i always thought it meant using a toy that the dog could chew as i have seen a former dog trainer doing exactly that at the old straight track that ran adjacent to the Adelaide Airport (is it still there ?) on the Novar Gardens side.....anyway while i very rarely bet on dogs these days i will never ever have a bet on them again in protest over this cruelty & will never ever set foot on a dog track again


SHAME SHAME SHAME as Derryn Hinch would say

Didn't see the 4 corners story but read an extended article on it.
Sounds like the scandal goes to very high levels of Greyhound Racing admin across at least 3 states.

Reckon the fall out on this one could quite easily ruin the sport.

LIVE BAITING


This is a practice used  mainly to improve a greyhounds chasing ability
it enTails  live animals such as rabbits and possums being connected to a lure , the greyhounds pursue the animals and can be allowed to catch the prey and savage these unfortunate animals 
This inspires some hounds to become keener chasers

The practices of industry participants is being investigated in 3 states, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland
The investigation is involving low and high profile industry participants
The penalties can be as high as 2 years in jail, or fines up to 35,000, according to a SA authority
The penalty is more severe in SA
It could be up to 4 years in jail  or a fine up to $50,000
It is anticipated up to 70 interstate trainers may face charges

This deBarkle is a blood nose for the greyhound industries image


The one question I will raise , and treat this as a speculative question,
why is it all right for people to hunt down and shoot to kill rabbits, but this is condoned in the thrill for kill hound practices ?

Scrappy wrote: The one question I will raise , and treat this as a speculative question,
why is it all right for people to hunt down and shoot to kill rabbits, but this is condoned in the thrill for kill hound practices ?

Well I would suggest that a bullet would provide a cleaner kill for starters.

There is also the element of animal torture that is lacking. Strapping a live animal to a contraption against it's will and then allowing a dog to pursue it and then tear it to pieces is very different to it getting shot out in it's 'natural' surrounds, most of the time without it even knowing what happening.

Only me, but I don't understand anyone getting pleasure out of killing animals at all.

Anyone who uses animals for live baiting has severe personality problems, IMO.

this is only the beginning

it gets far worse

I quite often watch Four Corners and Monday's episode was probably the most horrific I can ever remember.
The cruelty that was shown by some of the TOP trainers in the country is beyond words.

One part of the show had a top trainer using live bait that was being ripped apart by a dog while a little girl was present watching.

The people that run this sport throughout Australia ought to be ashamed of themselves for turning a blind eye to what has been going on, and no one will convince me any different after hearing the head honcho being interviewed and mumbling his way through.

It took just a handful of dedicated animal lovers to expose these cretins and I just hope they are thrown out of the game.

It defies belief that Barnaby Joyce is attacking the whistleblowers, not the industry.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/barnaby-joyce-criticises-activists-in-greyhound-live-bait-expose/story-e6frg6nf-1227223167503

Gingernuts wrote:

Scrappy wrote: The one question I will raise , and treat this as a speculative question,
why is it all right for people to hunt down and shoot to kill rabbits, but this is condoned in the thrill for kill hound practices ?

Well I would suggest that a bullet would provide a cleaner kill for starters.

There is also the element of animal torture that is lacking. Strapping a live animal to a contraption against it's will and then allowing a dog to pursue it and then tear it to pieces is very different to it getting shot out in it's 'natural' surrounds, most of the time without it even knowing what happening.

Your right
i was just trying too see a loophole from the trainers point of view

Lee wrote:It defies belief that Barnaby Joyce is attacking the whistleblowers, not the industry.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/barnaby-joyce-criticises-activists-in-greyhound-live-bait-expose/story-e6frg6nf-1227223167503

i can understand some of his points but whether the footage obtained was illegal or not, the fact is what i witnessed should not be tolerated at all & visions obtained for the better good in any circumstance should be allowed in court etc, whether it be this or cock fighting or indeed that vision we saw from overseas with horses fighting each other, in this case it is a disgrace & i'm glad they got caught

MACRO MEATS
Macro Meats possibly the biggest sponsor of Greyhound racing has relinquished sponsorship of the industry
Macro Meats Ray Borda said he could not sleep after seeing the film on 4 corners
Is this just the beginning ?
Will more and more sponsors stop endorsing the sport ?

SCHWEPPES
The soft drink company is abandoning sponsorship in some, and possibly all states

JOHNATHON BROWN
Recently retired AFL star footballer took on the role as the Queensland ambassador for Greyhound racing
Brown after seeing 4 corners , is said to have now quit the role

obviously Browns mum & half brother didn't stoop to this level as dog trainers

MYXOMATOSIS

I am almost totally against the slaughter of animals
Unless it is for human consumption , survival of the fittest etc


So what do we make of  Myxomatosis in the 1950s in Australia ?
It was used to eradicate rabbit numbers
It was estimated that about 80-85% of the rabbit population was wiped out
The strike rate was about a staggering 99% of all rabbits that caught the infection died 
Before dying these animals I would imagine would have been in or close to agony before death

One more thought to ponder
Rabbits first started roaming Australia in 1859
They were somewhat introduced for the purpose of hunting 
The issue with the greyhound saga is cruelty
But so was Myxomatosis , despite benefits in other areas

As for me , I have had my share of pets
I used to have pet rabbits , to me they are wonderful harmless creatures
None of them had  the personality of Bugs Bunny , but nevertheless they were pets to me
So it is sad to see the plight of these animals