Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Beautiful, gentle greyhounds are subjected to unimaginable cruelty, neglect and exploitation every single day in this country. The greyhound racing and gambling industry abuses, maims and kills these gentle animals for profit and profit alone, discarding them callously when they're no longer making them a buck. Recently, there has been one expose after the other, first from South Australia, where gut-wrenching footage of greyhounds being kicked, beaten and pulled has finally forced the state government to promise an inquiry. Now we have evidence from Victoria that dozens of greyhounds have been left to die from racetrack injuries their trainers refuse to treat. How heartless! We know the boss of Greyhound Racing NSW has been referred to ICAC for corruption allegations. This industry just does not care. It is brutal, and it is rotten to the core. What they do to dogs is repugnant, reprehensible and beyond any skerrick of humanity.

Greyhounds that do survive and are freed from the chains of racing have become loving and loyal friends and companions, bringing joy to so many, like my gorgeous Cosmo. Activists like the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, Free the Hounds and so many volunteers gave their blood, sweat and tears not only to rehome the dogs that are left the die by this industry but also to expose the inherent cruelty of this industry's business model. The only choice is to shut down racing across the country, but there's apathy at all levels of government. The states are too drunk on gambling revenue, so we need the Commonwealth to step in. The federal government must work with the states and territories to end all greyhound racing and rehome these adorable dogs. This is our moral obligation.