New Zealand plans to ban greyhound racing
New Zealand has unveiled plans to ban greyhound racing, citing an "unacceptably high" number of injuries within the sport.
The sport has long faced criticism in the country, with some breeders accused of mistreating or doping the animals, News.Az reports, citing BBC.The government plans to wind down the industry over the next 20 months, to allow time for the rehoming of racing dogs and for people in the industry to transition to other jobs.
Apart from New Zealand, commercial greyhound racing is allowed in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US.
"Despite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high and the time has come to make a call in the best interest of the animals," Racing Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This is not a decision that is taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs," he said.
The government on Tuesday introduced a bill on to prevent the unnecessary killing of racing dogs, which "will be passed under urgency", said Peters, who is also New Zealand's deputy prime minister.
Further legislation will be tabled to enable the end to greyhound racing, he said.
There have been three reviews of the greyhound racing industry over the past decade, all recommending significant changes.
In 2021, 232 racing greyhounds died and 900 suffered injuries, according to local media reports.
The industry was placed "on notice" by the government in September that year, but the deaths and injuries continued. Animal rights group Safe logged more than 2,500 injuries and nearly 30 deaths in the two-and-a-half years that followed.
A key task now is to rehome the estimated 2,900 racing greyhounds that remain in the country.
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