A greyhound has been killed after a “We Stand With Tasmania” race at Sandown Park in Victoria on Saturday night, held in support of Tasmania’s greyhound racing industry.
Two-year-old Paw Otis suffered a broken leg during Race 5 and was put down after a veterinary examination.
Greyhound Racing Victoria said it was “deeply saddened by the loss of Paw Otis” and that the dog “received immediate attention from the on-track veterinary team, however due to the severity of the injury he was humanely euthanised”.
The organisation said it is conducting a full review of the incident.
“Any greyhound fatality is one too many,” it said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the death strengthened the case for ending greyhound racing.
“The only thing standing between animal welfare and the ban on greyhound racing is Josh Willie, Dean Winter and the Labor Party,” he said.
“When the Labor Party sees sense, then greyhound racing will end in Tasmania and animal welfare standards will improve.”
Rockliff said greyhound racing would end in 2029 and that neither his government nor Labor would fund the industry beyond that point.
He said a committee had been established to further inform upper house members ahead of the legislation returning for debate.
“We need to allow this industry to have a dignified exit,” he said.
“Tasmania is leading the nation and I’ve no doubt that greyhound racing across the nation will end at some point.”
Labor MLC Luke Edmunds pointed out the numbers remain uncertain.
“There were two votes out of 14 on this debate, so even with us, there’s not necessarily guarantees it goes through,” he said.
The government’s legislation to phase out greyhound racing by 2029 is still awaiting a return to the upper house after the Liberals deferred the debate.
