More than 60% of Tasmanians oppose greyhound racing, according to what those leading the charge have described as the “most comprehensive opinion poll ever conducted” on the sport in the state.
A recent EMRS survey on behalf of the ‘End Funding for Tasmanian Greyhound Racing by 2029 campaign’ found that out of 500 adults surveyed, 62% of respondents opposed greyhound racing, while only 11% supported it.
Of the 62% opposed, 46% expressed strong opposition and a mere 1% of those surveyed had attended a greyhound race in the last 12 months.
When asked about taxpayer subsidies for the industry, 45% of respondents said they would consider changing their vote to support a party that promised to stop funding greyhound racing.
A spokesperson for the campaign said that the polling was funded through “the joint efforts of our expanding community partnership”.
“The EMRS poll sample of 500 is robust. It provides a margin of error of 4.38 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level,” the spokesperson said.
“By comparison, Newspoll samples about 1500 people to accurately gauge the opinions of a national population of 26 million.”
The campaign to end government funding for greyhound racing has garnered support from organisations including the RSPCA Tasmania and the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds.
Independent MP Kristie Johnston said the results were ‘not surprising’ and believes they are “further proof the Tasmanian community have had enough of their taxes supporting animal cruelty”.
“These latest poll results show that it’s about time the Labor and Liberal parties listened to their constituents and stop using taxpayer dollars to support this cruel industry,“Johnston said.
