The confronting death of a greyhound during a race in Wagga Wagga last week has reignited the debate over injuries and deaths at racing tracks in New South Wales.
Warning: This article contains images that some readers may find distressing.
In race one on Friday Joyous Treasure was killed in an accident that track-side veterinarian Seamus McKillop described as "very rare".
"In my time in the industry as an on track veterinarian of 19 years I've never seen that incident," he said.
"I've seen incidents that have injured dogs, but hitting its head on the running rail?
"I've never seen before."
Video released by the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) shows the confronting moment the dog collides with the rail at the approach to the bend and flies into the air.
The steward's report confirms the dog was euthanased after sustaining a fractured neck and head and leg wounds.
Dr McKillop said the death was "very, very unfortunate".
"The dog got tangled with other competing dogs and flipped and hit its head hard on a bit of the running rail," he said.
He said deaths were very rare in his experience as a track-side veterinarian.
Figures from the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission confirmed that Joyous Treasure was the 27th dog to die on a NSW track this year.
CPG president Kylie Fields called the incident "nightmarish".
"The video of this death is just traumatic and it's really barbaric," she said.
Deaths decline
In the last eight months 44 greyhounds have died on NSW racetracks.
There were 64 deaths over the same period – from October to May – in 2018-19.
In 2017 the NSW government pledged $30 million in capital grants for safety upgrades to greyhound tracks following the controversial banning and reinstatement of the sport in 2016.
Since then the rate of serious injury has slightly reduced, from 168 between October and May 2018-19 – or a rate of 3.29 injuries per 1,000 starts – to 203 in the same period this year, representing a rate of 3.11 per thousand starts.
Between October and June 2021-22 there were 231 injuries and 39 deaths.
In a lengthy statement, peak body Greyhound Racing NSW said injuries were "a part of all sports".
"Serious injuries have been declining since reform of the industry in NSW since 2016 and the very best efforts are made to minimise and reduce injuries," a spokesperson said.
But Ms Field said the figures showed minimal change compared to the investment and time.
"That investment into track safety has clearly not done anything and what we're seeing, at the end of the day, is dogs that are dying and dying really horrendous deaths," she said.
Greyhound Racing NSW said the track at Wagga Wagga was upgraded last August.
It has not received any funding from the capital grants program.
Bend debate
A 2017 report commissioned by Greyhound Racing NSW on the optimal design for safety of greyhound racing tracks recommended replacing oval tracks with straight tracks.
The author of the report, Professor David Eager, declined to be interviewed by the ABC.
In the report he wrote bends were problematic for a number of reasons, including the danger of congestion when dogs slowed down on the approach and the instability caused by changing direction at high speed.
Dr McKillop said Joyous Treasure's death was a direct result of congestion at the bend.
"That's exactly what happened in this incident — it was trying to cross and while jostling for position it got unbalanced," he said.
"Bends are a contributing factor to race falls."
Greyhound Racing NSW said the dog's death was not track-related.
"It was a racing-related incident," a spokesperson said in a statement.
The peak body criticised the ABC's coverage of anti-greyhound groups, which it described as "disproportionate" and "elitist" compared to other sports and racing codes.
"The sport of greyhound racing in NSW is enjoyed by thousands of people in regional and rural NSW where it is their livelihood," it said.
Liquor and Gaming NSW's grant website shows that less than half of the $30 million capital grants program has been allocated so far and that $500,000 went towards the construction of a straight track in Richmond.
Ms Field said the funding needed to be revisited in the wake of Joyous Treasure's death.
"We're asking the minister to investigate this industry — it needs to be looked at and scrutinised," she said.
Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris did comment on Joyous Treasure's death, but said in a statement that euthanasia rates had trended down in recent years.
He said all deaths were investigated by an injury review panel.
