3 dog deaths in April at races hosted by Greyhound Racing South Australia

Racetrack injuries and unexplained collapses continue to be regular features of dog racing in South Australia.

(Photograph: Matilda Duncan)

Three dogs died at races held by Greyhound Racing South Australia last month, after being made to participate in events at the Angle Park racetrack in Adelaide, South Australia.

The three deaths bring this year’s death toll at South Australia’s dog racetracks to 9 dogs in 4 months.

On April 2, a dog with a racing name of “Zoological” collapsed after a race at the Angle Park racetrack, and was found to be suffering from acute internal bleeding. She was trained by Trevor Sargent, of Lewiston, and owned by the Sargent syndicate. Zoological was humanely euthanised after the race by the on-site Greyhound Racing South Australia veterinarian, Dr. Greg Moore.

Moore also works at the Angle Park Veterinary Clinic, which is located at the same dog racetrack.

Later in the month, two dogs died in the space of three days at Angle Park, after both sustained injuries during races and were consequently humanely euthanised by a Greyhound Racing South Australia veterinarian with the consent of their owners.

A dog that had been given a racing name of “Personality” was killed at 2 years of age on April 27, after bumping another dog during the race, falling, and her owner opted to have her humanely euthanised at the races end. She was trained by Cameron Butcher, of Meningie. The on-site veterinarian overseeing the race meet was Dr. Michelle Hague, of the Adelaide Plains Veterinary Clinic.

On April 29, the dog “Surveyor” slowed during a race, and was killed at 3 years of age after having been found to sustain an injury. Surveyor did not collide with any other dog during the race, or experience any incident that might have caused an injury, according to the official race report. He was trained by Kim Johnstone, of Two Wells, and euthanised after the race by Dr. Christopher Doyle, a long-time employee and previous board member of Greyhound Racing South Australia.

The race in which Surveyor sustained the injury that led to his being euthanised was sponsored by Greyhound Racing South Australia’s own racing dog adoption program under the name “You. Me. 6 Weeks”, which is a marketing slogan to encourage the public to foster racing dogs through the Greyhound Adoption Program.

Greyhound Racing South Australia has not released any information about the nature of the injuries that led to the death of either dog.

The regulator has been concealing information about racing dog injuries since mid-March, in a move to increase secrecy that remains unchallenged by South Australia’s Racing Minister, Corey Wingard.

A spokesperson for Wingard incorrectly told this publication in March that the greyhound industry’s official racing reports contained "exactly the same information" as they had previously, and that they had “accepted Greyhound Racing SA's explanations” regarding the race report changes. 

Since the decrease in transparency surrounding racing dog injuries, Greyhound Racing South Australia have been regularly reporting dogs to have sustained injuries serious enough to be stood down from racing for periods of 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, with no explanation of the nature of the injuries each dog sustained while racing. 

Greyhound Racing South Australia is responsible for all aspects of dog racing, including everything from encouraging gambling to conducting veterinary checks and ensuring racing dog welfare, and despite receiving millions in taxpayer funding, operates with minimal government oversight. South Australia remains one of the last states—aside from the Northern Territory—to operate without a separate government oversight body responsible for racing animal welfare.

Over 90 dogs have died at animal racetracks in Australia so far this year.

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You can view the relevant race reports from April written by Greyhound Racing South Australia below: