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URGENT ACTION NEEDED

The Vic Govt is debating a Bill that risks greyhound welfare.

A greyhound, looking defeated, laying down in a barren kennel looking through the wire door.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

Tell the Upper House, Greyhound Racing Victoria needs more scrutiny — not less.

In recent years, allegations and reports across the country have raised serious concerns about the treatment of dogs trapped in racing. These have included alleged live baiting, physical abuse, reports of dogs testing positive for cocaine, and dogs being exported to fuel illegal gambling operations overseas. Yet Victoria's Upper House is about to debate a Bill that could reduce transparency and accountability requirements for Greyhound Racing Victoria to publicly report on the welfare of these vulnerable dogs. Urge the Upper House to stop the Bill.

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Issue summary

Greyhound racing causes predictable and preventable harm to dogs. Serious welfare concerns remain built into the system — overbreeding, injury, doping, extended periods of confinement, over-training, live baiting, lack of socialisation and enrichment, and death. Dogs are discarded if they’re not considered fast enough or when they’re no longer profitable. Greyhound racing has repeatedly shown it cannot be trusted to protect dogs. For decades, allegations of animal cruelty continue to emerge across Australia — including live baiting, the export of dogs to China’s illegal gambling industry, dogs tethered to treadmills, and thousands of unreported deaths of unwanted dogs and puppies. Yet Victoria's Upper House is about to debate a Bill that could reduce transparency and accountability requirements for Greyhound Racing Victoria to publicly report on the welfare of these vulnerable dogs. Urge the Upper House to stop the Bill.
Animals Australia

Animals Australia team

Last updated August 11, 2026

Victoria has the highest number of on-track greyhound deaths in Australia, but a Bill enabling reduced transparency and accountability over greyhound welfare recently passed the Lower House. Now, the Upper House is about to debate it.

Decision-makers must hear from Victorians who want to see greyhounds better protected.

Greyhound racing in Australia continues to face public scrutiny over entrenched cruelty to dogs. Across the country, 119 greyhounds were killed on racetracks in 2025 — and sadly, Victoria is the ‘leading state’ when it comes to these on-track deaths. [1] In 2024, a greyhound tested positive for cocaine before a race in Victoria, and trainers have continued to face suspensions and investigations over alleged live baiting.

Despite continued public outrage and the industry’s repeated promises of reform, dogs (and other animals) are still suffering for the sake of gambling profits. Until racing is ended for good, it needs more scrutiny, not less.

What is being debated?

The Racing Legislation Amendment (Entity Governance and Other Matters) Bill 2026 is about to be debated in Victoria’s Upper House. If passed, it would enable reduced transparency and accountability over greyhound welfare, in the state with the highest number of on-track deaths and serious injuries in Australia.

The Bill transitions Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) and Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) from statutory authorities, into companies limited by guarantee registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (noting Racing Victoria is already a company). This would preclude freedom on information access to GRV records.

Greyhounds are paying the price

Greyhound racing, at its ‘best’, requires the ongoing breeding of dogs so that the fastest can be used to support racing’s primary goal: to generate gambling income. This means many dogs bred into the industry never even make it to the track.

As long as greyhound racing continues in Australia, dogs will continue to be injured, confined and discarded. No animal deserves to suffer and die for the sake of gambling money.

This image contains content which some may find confronting

Paw Pierre falls on track and was killed.
Paw Pierre was just 21 months old when he suffered catastrophic injuries and was killed on a Victorian racetrack. For greyhounds, racing means the risk of deadly injuries on track — and confinement, isolation and exploitation off it.

Dogs are suffering nationwide

Explosive investigations[2] by Animals Australia and Animal Liberation Queensland exposed widespread live baiting in Australia’s greyhound racing trade back in 2015. Piglets, rabbits and native possums were tied to lures to encourage greyhounds to chase and maul them in a sadistic training method that was not only widespread but widely accepted. 

Since then, multiple allegations and findings of animal cruelty continue to emerge from Australia’s greyhound racing industry, including several in recent years:

  • There have been several incidents reported across Australia of greyhounds being strangled during training — this includes dogs being left unattended, tethered to training treadmills[3][4], and others being tied to a quad bike.[5]
  • In South Australia, drone footage captured dogs and puppies being punched, kicked and dragged on a prominent trainer’s property.[6]
  • Tasmania’s ‘top’ greyhound trainer was investigated for live baiting after the tail of a native Australian pademelon was found attached to a lure arm on his property.
  • Serious questions have also come to light about transparency in Tasmania, where 40 race replays involving falls and injuries were withheld from the public website.[7] The footage was later released under right-to-information laws, showing dozens of dogs being injured, trampled, and in some cases, killed. 

These are not isolated incidents. A 2024 report by the outgoing Chief Veterinary Officer for Greyhound Racing New South Wales (NSW) alleged extreme, entrenched animal welfare issues across nearly every facet of the industry,[8] including the overbreeding of dogs to meet quotas leading to thousands of “exhausted” greyhounds being discarded “with no hope of being rehomed”.

The risks to greyhounds spread beyond our nation’s shores as well. ABC Investigations unveiled that Australian greyhounds were being exported to China to be used as ‘breeder dogs’ to fuel its illegal gambling industry.[9] Legislation was proposed to prevent Australian greyhounds from being exported overseas, but devastatingly, the bill did not pass, leaving these sensitive animals vulnerable to further suffering.

Australia is increasingly an outlier

Momentum is building to end greyhound racing, and Australia is one of just four countries still operating a commercial greyhound racing industry.[10]

Aotearoa New Zealand closed its commercial racing industry from 1 August 2026, while Wales and Scotland have also recently passed legislation to end the practice. Ahead of Aotearoa New Zealand’s ban, reports emerged that greyhounds were expected to be exported to Australia.[11] The Australian Government has acknowledged it cannot prevent imported dogs from being used for racing once they arrive, exposing them to great risk within the very system their home country is ending.

In Australia, the ACT prohibited greyhound racing on welfare grounds in 2018, and Tasmania is set to de-fund greyhound racing by 2029. It’s time for every Australian state to follow suit and protect dogs by bringing greyhound racing to an end.

Will you help stop the Bill?

Greyhound racing has a long record of cruelty. Dogs are bred for gambling, confined in barren kennels, injured on tracks, and discarded when they are no longer deemed ‘profitable’. Despite years of attempted reforms, the harm continues. Your voice can help urge decision-makers not to pass this Bill or at least amend it.

Send a message to your Upper House representative and urge them not to pass the Bill, and to instead speak up for greyhounds.

References

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Animals Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We support the Victorian Statewide Treaty to deliver better outcomes for First Peoples. View our current Reconciliation Action Plan.
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