An anti-greyhound racing organisation has called for better regulation of doping in the industry, labelling current controls as "antiquated", "predictable" and "easily circumvented".
According to Greyhound Racing SA's latest annual report, 1,845 tests were done in the 2021/22 financial year, or 5.91 per cent of runners.
Of those, 1.02 per cent tested positive to a prohibited substance.
But the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds said previous reporting indicates most of those tests were done on race days.
"This presents significant issues because what we know [is] that people who are using performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids are not using them on race days," the coalition's state director, Elle Trahair, said.
"What we're calling for is out-of-race-day sampling, so enhancing the testing and monitoring that is before and after races, and out-of-competition testing."
Greyhound Racing SA's most recent annual reports do not show when the samples were taken, but the organisation said they were taken on racing and non-racing days.
"Details of the swabbing and testing regime are necessarily covert so as to ensure its integrity and effectiveness," the organisation said in a statement.
But the industry has previously reported when samples were taken, with reports from 2019 and earlier showing around 3 per cent were taken out of competition, with the bulk of testing done post-race.
In the past 12 months, the Greyhound Racing SA website has listed seven cases where banned substances have been detected in dogs, including steroids, anti-inflammatories and opioids.
Of those cases, six resulted in race bans being suspended, with the remaining one leading to a three-month ban for the trainer.
The highest fine was $880 and was in response to the detection of steroids, but in all cases any prize money had to be repaid.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds said those steps were not enough of a deterrent.
"Having a really relatively short suspension period of a few weeks to months, and then just having to return the prize money, it really is just so soft," Ms Trahair said.
"Compare that to human athletes — that would be the end of an athlete's career."
Anti-doping is 'rigorous', racing authority says
The coalition is calling for the South Australian government to set up an independent regulator to oversee the industry, and for the imposition of a drug control program consistent with Sport Integrity Australia, that monitors elite athletes.
But Greyhound Racing SA said its anti-doping program was "rigorous".
"Participants found to be in breach of rules regarding prohibited substances are penalised in line with both the national rules of racing and local rules and sentencing guidelines," it said.
"While each case is judged on its merits and penalties vary according to the type of substance involved, minimum penalties apply and vary from suspension through to a disqualification of several years."
A state government spokesperson has told the ABC that it has consulted with the community on how current animal welfare laws have worked, and is awaiting for a report from the Department for Environment and Water.
