Andrea Dawkins MP | Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson
The Premier's response in Question Time today to the 1,608 greyhounds who have been killed over the past three years was heartless.
Premier Hodgman applauded the industry for achieving better animal welfare outcomes. 1,600 dead dogs are hardly the hallmark of an ethical and socially accepted industry.
Remember, these are just the dead dogs we know about, the ones who were named. Puppies killed were not counted in the Right to Information documents we sought.
We know of the 1,600 plus greyhounds who died over three and a half years, but many more never made it to the track and died as puppies or young dogs, uncounted by officials.
The greyhound racing industry is killing dogs every day in Tasmania for no other reason than they are surplus to requirements, aren’t fast enough or are too expensive to keep if they aren’t making money at the racetrack.
It's clear Premier Hodgman and his colleagues have rolled over to the very industry they prop up with taxpayer dollars. They seem cruelly content to ignore the thousands of greyhounds who have been killed in this industry’s name.
NSW Premier Baird and ACT Chief Minister Barr have demonstrated real leadership in the face of the deep and widespread cruelty of the greyhound racing industry. Tasmanian Premier, Will Hodgman, has displayed his complete lack of courage and leadership.
The greyhound racing industry is government sanctioned, tax payer funded, animal cruelty. The Greens will continue to raise this issue and call out the Liberals on their heartless inaction and Labor on their complicity.