An independent review into greyhound racing have been released today with Racing Minister Winston Peters saying the findings are deeply disturbing.
The review, commissioned in November 2016 by the NZ Racing Board, and conducted by former High Court Judge Rodney Hansen QC, made numerous recommendations to improve the welfare of racing greyhounds.
"When the welfare of greyhounds should be paramount, the Hansen report has revealed rates of dog euthanasia, the numbers of 'unaccounted' for dogs, and low numbers of rehomed greyhounds which are simply unacceptable," aid Mr Peters says in a statement.
"While the industry has taken steps to improve greyhound welfare it still has a long way to go to clean-up the sport. It is not tolerable having some owners giving the rest a bad name."
Mr Peters says he met with the NZ Racing Board in person this week and "the industry was left in no doubt just what dismal view the government has of this".
The greyhound industry intends to implement most of Hansen report recommendations, according to Mr Peters.
"These recommendations deserve close attention. Serious improvement is required particularly on kennel inspections, dog tracking, approvals regime before a dog can be euthanised, track safety, dog rehoming, and stricter enforcement of the dog health and welfare standards," said Mr Peters.
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