$6million is the amount set aside for the proposed greyhound racing tract at Murray Bridge in South Australia by the Development Assessment commission. The facility will be located on 21 hectare site on the town’s borders and will include viewing facilities, 620-metre track, dining facilities, function room with a bar, car parking area, kitchen as well as toilets.

The construction is set to start in the middle of the year if the plans will be approved, with raising beginning in July 2017. However, the chief executive officer of RSPCA Tim Vasudeva is not in agreement of the plan to go on until the Greyhound racing community in South Australia (GRSA) explain how they are to improve on the welfare of the dogs.

“The GRSA have not agreed to provide the information requested by RSPCA regarding the amount of money they intend to invest in order to improve the dog’s outcomes and the timeframes or their targets related to these plans,” he said.

“ Besides that, they have also declined t produce historical data concerning the number of greyhounds raced, born, retired, rehomed or killed over the recent years.”

There is an online petition with almost 35,000 signature is circulating against the proposal of the new racing tack, citing “animal welfare concerns.”

Nonetheless, the chair of GRSA, Mr Michael Fabbro said that the new track will be replacing the existing track and is safer for the dogs. The local council also supports the proposal saying that it will boost job opportunities.

Brenton Lewis, the Mayor of Murray Bridge said, “The council has been very supportive in the development of the new GRSA facility at Murray Bridge as it will boost the region’s employment and recreating opportunities. This will reflect the determination of the council’s strategic plan in supporting economic growth and even provide opportunities to the local community.”

Brent Hogan, the former head of Greyhound Racing NSW isproviding evidence at the special commission of Inquiry in the next two days concerning the high rates of Greyhound injuries and poor welfare standards in the industry. The Inquiry already heard that the Officials played down the injuries in order to avoid negative publicity and no deaths were reported.

Mr Hogan stepped down as Greyhound’s Racing NSW CEO last year due to the wake of Four Corners on live baiting.

An email was sent to Commissioner MicaherMcHugh from the chief steward of GRNSW which urged the officials to downplay the injuries of the dogs in post-race events to avoid negativity. The mail suggested that a broken leg can be referred to as an injured leg.

According to the suggested policy, if a dog was put down after a race, it is only the injury that will be reported and not the death itself. As such, this policy misled the public and therefore policy change was necessary.

Mr Hogan told the commission that the change of policy was intended only to make it easier for steward’s report and make the language consistent.

According to the commissioner, it appears to him that the policy was made deliberately to excite the interest of animal welfare groups.

“ Do you agree that this policy mislead the public?” the commissioner asked.

Mr Hogan replied, “Looking back to it, Yes.”

The commission has previously been told that up to 17,000 dogs were not allowed to race because they were not good enough. In fact, every month, over 600 greyhounds are reported to be injured in Australia, suffering from different and serious bone fractures as well as musculoskeletal injuries.

“Nonetheless, it is clear that the controlling bodies have failed to keep and also publish comprehensive injury reports,” Stephen Rushton, the assisting counsel to the inquiry said.

Aging in greyhounds and horses can be fatal to the animals as their owners have no use to them. This mainly results in ending the lives of these animals that have their career coming to an end. Reports have indicated that over 15,000 dogs are killed each year when their career expires.

Animal wastage has been the prime welfare to all racing in the globe. There are however a number of greyhound owners and trainers who are conversant with the animal welfare. The killing of these animals has subdued in Australia as the NSW parliament select committee submitted a report that the killing claims conducted in three years up to 2012-2013 had gone down to 0.4%. There are a number of ways to reduce killing of greyhounds.

Restructuring races is one of these ways. Apparently, Australia can be in a position of re-homing about 2,000 greyhounds every year. This can be achieved from the 2014-2015 stats that showed that 834 adoptions were made.

Each year one out of four greyhounds retires. There are over 55,000 of these greyhounds in Australia. Rather than killing that one retiring dog, it could be more advisable to adopt it to families who like pet dogs. Generally, dogs can race for almost four years in their lifetime. This comes as the greyhounds need not be ridden, whipped or even made to jump obstacles in a race. They basically follow a straight line chasing a synthetic lure that is operated mechanically.

Back in 2009, the GRNSW took over the adoption role which saw more than 100 greyhounds adopted each year. This rose to several hundred as years went by. If at all the wasting of greyhounds is to be completely eliminated, the banning of these events must be eradicated for good. This will be the case incorporated by 39 states in the U.S.

The variation based on corporate model will involve the owners and trainers having their own breeding mechanism that would oversee the grey hounds take to the races three or four times in a year. This would eradicate the threats of career end threats and in turn would be fundamental in the elimination of wasting greyhounds.

After the cruelty in greyhound racing was exposed, one Australian lawmaker has stepped in to push for a ban of this game in New South Wales (NSW).

At the beginning of this year, there was a show on Australian Broadcasting Corporation that showed cruelty in the greyhound racing industry. It exposed the use of live animals as bait while training the greyhounds. This was an undercover task that was carried out by the Animals Australia and Animal Queensland.

The process involved in training the greyhounds entailed the use of live possums, piglets and rabbits that were tied on lures that would spin round the track as the greyhounds chased them. The dogs were provoked and bring them to lead ups in the race. There were pretty many saddening images of these animals being tortured, as well as kittens being used in the training of the greyhounds.

This investigation triggered a lot of public outrage and action is to be taken on people who are involved in the training. Many of these people involved are prominent people in the industry despite the fact that officials said that they do not tolerate such actions in the industry.

Among those implicated with the charges include a high ranking professional trainer, greyhound racing club president, a former steward who is the president of a peak body and a prolific trainer of greyhounds Australia.

What topped this investigation is the unearthing of a mass grave that has about 55 bodies of greyhounds in Queensland that are believed to have been killed before the investigation was aired. Greens MP John Kaye has come forward on behalf of the greyhounds and animals that were used in legislation to bring down the industry on concerns that there will be no regulations that will make this kind of inhumane acts to stop. He said that the greyhound racing industry will always bring animal cruelty as long as it involves gambling and profits.

This new Greyhound Racing Prohibition Bill 2015 will cease greyhound racing in New South Wales (NSW) by January 2016. It will also dissolve its regulatory body and offer all its assets to the Minister for racing in a venture to rehabilitate and re-home all dogs that were affected.