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New Zealand has unveiled plans to ban greyhound racing, pointing to an "unacceptably high" incidence of injuries associated with the sport. The sport has historically encountered criticism in the country, as some breeders have been accused of mistreating or doping the animals.
"Despite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high and the time has come to make a call in the best interest of the animals," Racing Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on Tuesday.
The government plans to wind down the industry over the next 20 months, to allow time for the rehoming of racing dogs and for people in the industry to transition to other jobs.
The government on Tuesday introduced a bill to prevent the unnecessary killing of racing dogs, which "will be passed under urgency", said Peters, who is also New Zealand's deputy prime minister.
Further legislation will be tabled to enable the end to greyhound racing, he said.
There have been three reviews of the greyhound racing industry over the past decade, all recommending significant changes.
In 2021, 232 racing greyhounds died and 900 suffered injuries, according to local media reports.
The industry was placed "on notice" by the government in September that year, but the deaths and injuries continued. Animal rights group Safe logged more than 2,500 injuries and nearly 30 deaths in the two-and-a-half years that followed.
A key task now is to rehome the estimated 2,900 racing greyhounds that remain in the country.
Animal rights groups which have long fought for the industry to be closed cheered Tuesday's announcement, with Safe calling it a "monumental win for animal rights".
New Zealand's oldest animal welfare charity SPCA said it is "ecstatic" at the move and called on other countries that allow greyhound racing to follow suit.
However Greyhound Racing New Zealand, an industry association comprising greyhound racing clubs across the country, said it is "devastated" by the government's proposal.
Apart from New Zealand, commercial greyhound racing is allowed in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US.
