Minister for Racing Kieran McAnulty released this week the Racing Integrity Board’s report into the future of the greyhound racing industry and proposed two options.
He said it was clear the status quo was no longer viable.
"We are faced with two options: continue under strict conditions or closure. I will continue to progress this issue over the coming months," he said.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Greyhound Racing New Zealand chief executive Edward Rennell said the report was prepared on December 12 and he believed it had achieved significant progress from an animal welfare perspective.
"We’ve continued to make very good progress to further enhance our position ... We’ve improved animal welfare within the industry and particularly identified areas as needing further attention in the report.
"I think if it was assessed now that has been very good progress in relation to each one of those."
It included new greyhound rules and welfare standards, an independent review to enhance registration and traceability systems and a compulsory education programme for all professionals who cared for greyhounds, he said.
"Our racing safety strategic plan and injury reduction strategy have resulted in a downward trend in serious injuries."
While any change in the industry could cause concern, he was confident racing in Southland would continue thriving as he believed the region’s association and professionals were in a good place.
"Southland’s got a very acceptable injury rate at the moment and we would work closely with Southland — and all regions — to try and support not only the clubs but also their participants for any additional requirement."
The region hosted about 30 racing meeting each year and each one of those had an average turnover of $300,000.
"Southland is an important part of our racing patch.
"We would look to try and exceed the number of meetings there if additional funding was available — we would certainly look at that."
Greyhound Racing New Zealand would fully review the report and provide a comprehensive response to Mr McAnulty, noting the additional work that had been completed in the first half of 2023, he said.
