It was an accidental email that confirmed what many animal activists fear is widespread in Victoria’s greyhound racing industry: young, healthy dogs are being euthanised.
In July clinic notes from a vet intended for a greyhound trainer were mistakenly sent to a rehoming group that had been to the same vet for treatment of a rescue dog.
“They aren’t our usual vet,” Elle Fisk from Greyt Greys Rescue told Guardian Australia. “We had requested a record of vaccination so it was a real shock to see the word euthanasia pop up on the screen.”
The notes, seen by Guardian Australia, show a trainer had found their 12-month-old greyhound with a leg injury on their property. The vet suspected a fracture but the owner refused X-rays or treatment and instead requested euthanasia.
“The thing that shocked us the most was not only the age of the dog, but the fact that the vet had stated the owner was not interested in treatment,” Fisk said.
“Once these dogs aren’t making money, they are treated like rubbish and discarded.”
The case is not an isolated one. In September the Victorian Racing Tribunal found a registered public trainer and breeder had brought the industry into disrepute by having a dog unnecessarily euthanised in 2022.
The tribunal heard that the experienced trainer had told a vet there was a lameness issue and had repeatedly asked her to “just euthanise the dog”.
They did not allow the greyhound to be medically examined before the procedure but the vet told the tribunal it “did not appear injured and there was no obvious fracture” and it was standing “OK on all four legs”.
The tribunal determined the trainer made “no effort at all” to rehome the greyhound and deemed the euthanasia “unnecessary”. Penalty findings for the case are ongoing and have been requested in written form due to the trainer’s “aggressive outbursts” during the hearing.
In another case from 2022, a different trainer was found by the tribunal to have euthanised nine dogs between 2016 and 2019 without any effort to rehome them and without notifying the body that oversees the industry, Greyhound Racing Victoria.
Instead, the trainer misled the GRV by reporting the dogs as “retired pets”.
“Each dog was euthanised … and it was always your intention that this would happen,” the tribunal’s finding reads.
In New South Wales similar concerns have emerged, with a report by the greyhound racing peak body’s former chief vet Dr Alex Brittan alleging some vets in the industry willingly euthanise large numbers of greyhounds.
The report, which has led to an independent inquiry, named two vets “responsible for half the euthanasia in NSW”.
The Victorian state Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell said there was no way to know how many healthy greyhounds were being euthanised in Victoria because GRV does not publish a breakdown of deaths.
Its annual report has previously only included an overall figure for euthanasia as well as “racing fatalities” – deaths that occur instantaneously on the track. In the 2022-23 reporting period, GRV recorded 382 euthanasia deaths and 40 racing fatalities.
“It’s really misleading to the public because euthanasia sounds like it was in the best interest of the dog,” Purcell said.
“But we know there are dogs with treatable injuries that industry participants just want dead because they might not be economically viable any more.”
In parliament on Wednesday Purcell will move a motion that, if passed, would force GRV to report how many dogs are killed off-track and the specific reasons for that. The motion also proposes that any deaths occurring within 10 days of a race, training or trial be reclassified as racing fatalities.
In response, GRV said its latest figures showed racing fatalities in Victoria had decreased by 47% over the past five years.
“Instances of euthanasia have also declined by nearly 40% … as a result of GRV’s dedication to ensuring all healthy retired greyhounds are rehomed as pets once their racing careers are over,” it said.
Guardian Australia understands that GRV’s upcoming annual report, yet to be tabled in parliament, will include a breakdown of “euthanasia by reason” and non-euthanasia deaths.
While there are no plans to reclassify racing fatalities, Guardian Australia understands GRV is open to introducing a separate category: “track-related mortality not as part of race meeting”, which is a classification used in NSW.
