Finally comes a turning point for animal welfare: the greyhound racing they are going to be banned in New Zealand. The decision was announced by the New Zealand government, which plans to close the industry by August 2026.
This measure is motivated by thehigh number of injuries and deaths among dogs. Racing Minister Winston Peters said that while progress has been made by the industry to improve its practices, the injury rate remains unacceptably highmaking this decision necessary to protect animals.
Greyhound racing has long been a controversial part of sporting and betting culture in New Zealand. In 2021 they were registered 232 deaths and approximately 900 injuries among dogs, data that has fueled a growing public disgust towards this practice. Despite reviews and reforms, the industry has failed to resolve key problems, leading to proposals to ban it altogether.
Urgent legislation has been introduced to prevent the unnecessary killing of dogs
The announcement sparked mixed reactions. Animal rights organizations, such as the SPCA and Safe, celebrated the decision as a historic victorypraising the government for taking a firm stand. On the other hand, Greyhound Racing New Zealand, the association representing the industry, expressed profound opinion disappointmenthighlighting the economic and cultural impact the closure will have. The greyhound racing industry represents approximately 8.5% of the racing industry in New Zealandwith over 1,000 people employed full time.
The government has foreseen a period of 20 month transition to allow the relocation of the 2,900 greyhounds still active and to support workers in finding new jobs. In the meantime, an emergency law has been introduced to prevent unnecessary euthanization of dogsensuring that they can only be put down on the recommendation of a veterinarian.
Globally, greyhound racing is fortunately in decline. Many countries have already banned this practice or significantly limited its activities. Commercial racing is currently legal in a few countries including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United Stateswhere however the number of operational runways has drastically decreased in recent years.
Now with this choice New Zealand sends a strong message about how much it is the welfare of these animals is more important than “fun” (of a few) and it is hoped that his example will also be followed by other nations.
