Lea Drake, who used to helm New South Wales’ Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), has been put in charge of an investigation that is set to scrutinise the state’s greyhound racing industry over allegations surrounding animal cruelty.
This announcement comes days after a report detailing a range of accusations against Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) by its former Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), Alex Brittan, was made public. Not long after, the now ex-CEO of the GRNSW’s board, Robert Macaulay, handed in his resignation.
While the report prompted calls for the industry to be shut down, Premier Chris Minns stressed the NSW government is not going to ban the sport as he believes the problems can be addressed. An independent inquiry will be undertaken, and the NSW Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission has been tasked with conducting the investigation. As established, the inquiry will be led by Lea Drake, who has been appointed as acting commissioner.
GRNSW is Facing Accusations of Misreporting and Other Violations
As described in Brittan’s report, many dogs that were officially reported as rehomed were instead kept in industrial kennels, and the GRNSW had also failed to report accurate figures when it came to dogs that had passed away. Brittan specifically pointed to the figures released for 2023, as reports suggested 970 dogs were euthanized or had died of other causes, but he believes the actual figure stood at 3384 dogs.
The Australian Broadcasting Network reported that Brittan claimed that animals were put under “extreme distress,” that dogs were forced to race at a rate too frequent for them to recover properly, and that they were kept in unsanitary conditions. According to the Brisbane Times, Brittan also disapproved of the way dogs were rehomed via the G’day USA program, which transported dogs from Australia to the USA so that they could become support dogs of veterans. He claimed the cages used were not of the appropriate size for greyhounds and caused discomfort and further stress.
Brittan’s accusations bear a similarity to the issues uncovered by an inquiry held eight years prior when the GRNSW was exposed for numerous violations of animal welfare regulations. Under-reporting of dog death was an issue back then as well, but there had also been findings of the usage of live bait. Then Premier Mike Baird issued a ban on greyhound racing as a result, but while polls suggested the public was largely in support of this decision, the prohibition did not last long due to pushback.
Minns’ Comments Have Been Subject to Criticism
When Mike Baird reversed the ban in 2016, it was said that an approach aiming toward improving the industry would be taken instead. Following Brittan’s 2024 report, Minns stressed that the NSW government has been making efforts with the industry to fund track improvements that would make racing safer and that this has been one of his top priorities. He also reiterated his view on the sports’ potential ban: “This is not about closing the industry down. It’s about making sure that they can be the best they can be.”
Minns’ stance on the matter has made some question whether the premier would implement the potential recommendations of the probe. Emma Hurst of the Animal Justice party claimed Minns’ comments “make a mockery” of the upcoming inquiry and urged for a reassurance to be made that the recommendations would be honoured even if its results called for the end to NSW’s greyhound racing industry.
Another person to criticise Minns’ decision was Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who described the inquiry as a “farce and a political cover-up” that aligned with the interests of the greyhound racing industry. She believes that the government is not interested in acting based on evidence-based recommendations.
The investigation’s results are set to be presented to Minns by December 13th.
- Author
Daniel Williams
