Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced the end of greyhound racing in the state, following a tragic incident that resulted in the euthanization of a dog named Raider’s Guide. This decision might not at first seem significant, except that it signals a dramatic shift in policy. Their minority government would completely phase out public funding for the industry by 2029. Rockliff highlighted the need for an “orderly exit” from greyhound racing. He announced that it was time to “draw a line in the sand.”
The move comes hot on the heels of Rockliff’s reappointment as premier on Wednesday. The governor accepted his request, allowing him to create a minority government. The decision follows mounting pressure from advocacy groups. Greens and Independent Kristie Johnston have been strident in their demands for a ban on greyhound racing in Tasmania.
Raider’s Guide, a four-year-old dog who had recently been named the Greyhound of the Year about six weeks earlier, was in the headlines. Tragically, he was killed by a crashing competitor while competing at a Launceston circuit. The incident sparked a national conversation about animal welfare, mistreatment, and the ethics of greyhound racing.
“This vote represents the opening of a historic new chapter in our community’s commitment to animal welfare,” said Andrea Dawkins, animal rights activist.
Economist Saul Eslake’s recently released Going under report highlights just how much the industry has been propped up by government grants. He points out that in Tasmania, greyhound racing is funded exclusively by the state. The industry has been promised $7.5 million in funding for the next fiscal year of 2024-25. Rockliff’s government is intending to kill the existing funding deed as it tries to make enough deals with independent legislators to govern.
RSPCA Tasmanian has welcomed the government’s decision to phase out greyhound racing. They referred to it as a “relic of the past.” The organisation has previously voiced their hopes that this new initiative will help raise animal welfare standards throughout all of Tasmania.
Rockliff’s government is preparing the ground for this eventuality. It is absolutely clear that cutting state funding will finally end the cruel practice of greyhound racing in Tasmania. This issue serves to illustrate a much larger trend across the country. The latter, for instance, is a similar law that came into effect in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) back in 2018.
