Vision, filmed by a drone operator, depicting multiple greyhounds, including puppies, facing violence on a property situated in the south-east part of Adelaide, has been aired by the ABC News.
According to notes accompanying the video footage, the vision was filmed over a 17-day period in June and early July 2023, with the claim being supported by the files’ metadata.
As reported by the ABC News, one of the videos that is claimed to be filmed on June 17th shows a man who seems to be encouraging a black dog to run along a training track. Eventually, the unidentified man proceeds to approach the dog and kicks it, while the dog is trying to run away from the man. Another video filmed during the same period depicts the same man repeatedly kicking a black greyhound that is trying to protect itself next to the corners of the same training track. A third piece of video footage shows a man’s violent actions against puppies that are being herded into a separate pen. A number of other videos show greyhounds on the property being constantly kicked and punched.
The notes accompanying the drone video footage claim the visions have been filmed on the property of Tony and Lisa Rasmussen, popular Australian greyhound trainers.
The ABC News, on its part, has used satellite images to find matching landmarks in order to verify the claims. Then, the local media hub approached Mr Rasmussen for comment on the matter but he refused an interview. The greyhound trainer still agreed to meet with a reporter to view the video footage and explained that the man in the videos was a former employee who no longer works for the trainers due to his record of abusing the dogs. Rasmussen, however, refused to name the alleged former worker who, for the time being, remains unidentified.
Australian Greens Call for Immediate Independent Investigation into the Greyhound Racing Sector
As a result of the video footage depicting greyhound abuse, the Australian Greens political party has urged the authority to start an independent investigation into the greyhound racing industry.
Tammy Franks, Member of the Legislative Council of the Australian Greens, has reminded that the greyhound industry has been previously accused of ill-treatment of animals, with many accusations of inappropriate behaviour and cruelty already being unveiled to the public.
The Greens have called for a full ban to be imposed on greyhound racing, but Ms Franks insisted on an independent inquiry (or even a parliamentary one) into the sector, saying that the current system of self-regulation is obviously not working as it is supposed to.
In its turn, Greyhound Racing SA revealed that it had opened an investigation following the media reports of alleged greyhound abuse. The body further noted that both trainers on the Adelaide property had been suspended with immediate effect, with a formal interview with both of them currently pending. Animal Welfare Officers from the body have inspected the property and found the current welfare of all dogs there to be satisfactory. The dogs, however, are set to be removed from the property and transferred to other training facilities over the next couple of days.
Back in June, three trainers faced life bans from the job after they were found guilty of live baiting. At the time, Premier Peter Malinauskas said that he would take further inquiries into greyhound racing into consideration.
Despite that, Greyhound Racing SA received a funding boost in the most recent budget of the South Australian Government, which revealed that horse and dog racing industries will be boosted to 20% from the then-10%, or an estimated revenue of AU$6.5 million. The approved funding is set to be distributed to harness, thoroughbred, and greyhound racing based on their market share.
Katrine Hildyard, the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, commented on the issue, saying that the South Australian Government took animal welfare extremely seriously and noted that lawmakers expect that codes would act swiftly and decisively in cases of alleged animal abuse.
- Author
Daniel Williams
