Ban greyhound racing in Tasmania

TO THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Tasmania draws the attention of the House to the fact that: • Between 13,000 and 17,000 healthy young dogs are killed each year by the greyhound racing industry in Australia. • The industry has failed to reform in any meaningful way to stop the routine mistreatment of animals. • Dogs are being exported to jurisdictions with no animal welfare protections, including Macau, where they are subject to poor living conditions, risk of serious injury and almost certain death. • Greyhound racing is a poor employment generator and its continuation at significant taxpayer expense is inconsistent with the public interest. • In Tasmania in 2013/2014, only 121 of the 607 greyhounds that exited racing in were rehomed and 486 were killed. • Half of the greyhound pups born in Tasmania in 2015 were not even named. • For the 28 Tasmanian races held in the 8 weeks to 24 December 2015, stewards reported 78 pre-race injuries, 31 cases of pre-race illness, 51 racing injuries, 7 pre-race deaths and 3 deaths at races. Your Petitioners therefore request that the House: 1) Calls on the Government to: a) end greyhound racing in Tasmania; b) fund a Greyhound Racing Transition task force to help industry employees find new work and facilitate the re-homing of greyhounds; and c) lobby the Federal Government to prohibit the export of greyhounds for racing or breeding.