December saw the announcement by New Zealand Racing Minister Winston Peters that greyhound racing in the nation was coming to an end. With a 20-month cooling period now in place, the industry will go about winding down operations and re-homing dogs; of which there are an estimated 2,900.
This news follows a trend in recent years of greyhound racing’s struggle to stay afloat. Currently, 40 states in the US have banned greyhound racing, with the only other nations now operating a legal market being Australia, Ireland and the UK. Even in these strongholds, however, the cracks in the armour are clear. On 19 January 2025, the almost 40-year-old Crayford track in the UK hosted its final race – a decision made by Entain with “great sadness” according to a company spokesperson. But what caused a total shutdown and what can racing industries – greyhounds and otherwise – learn from this decision?
The dog days are over
“The possibility of a ban on greyhound racing in New Zealand has been signposted for years,” Dr Alison Vaughan, Scientific Officer at SPCA New Zealand, explains to Gambling Insider. “The industry was placed ‘on notice’ under threat of closure in 2021. Despite industry commitments to improve and progress in some areas, serious welfare issues persisted, contributing to a loss of public and political support.”
Indeed, despite efforts by Greyhound Racing New Zealand to improve safety, which Peters acknowledged in his December statement, injury levels remained too high for the market to continue. “The industry failed to meet their injury reduction targets and serious injuries, including fractures and torn muscles, increased,” says Vaughan. She pointed out a number of factors that contributed to the nation’s failure to meet targets, including high injury rates, insufficient progress and slow responses to issues, lack of transparency and eroding social licence (more on that later).
What about the horses?
The ban on greyhound racing, and the inevitable discussions of animal welfare in racing, raises the question of other animals in sport. Primarily, horseracing. Why is one market still going strong, while the other is struggling to stay afloat?
“Horseracing is one of New Zealand’s oldest organised sports and was established more than a century before greyhound racing began here,” says Vaughan. “In addition to having a longer history, horseracing continues to draw large crowds at key events. In comparison, greyhound racing has less value economically and has seen declining public interest.” According to statistics, only 1.2% of New Zealand’s raceday attendees were there for the dogs, with “only 3% of New Zealanders reporting betting on greyhound races in the past year” compared to 11.5% on horseracing. “While there are some welfare concerns related to horses racing, horseracing codes have taken a more proactive approach to addressing animal welfare and have been more successful in maintaining public and regulatory support,” she adds.
Mark Bird, CEO of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), noted the emotive issue of greyhound racing, and why this may also impact differing perspectives on greyhound and horseracing. “It’s an interesting philosophical question, because most people would say that a horse doesn’t end up on your sofa at the end of its racing career,” he tells Gambling Insider.
The greyhound racing ban in New Zealand provides critical insights for the horseracing industry, especially regarding the importance of maintaining a social licence - SPCA New Zealand Scientific Officer Alison Vaughan
“You’ve got halo charities, like the RSPCA and Dogs Trust, who have turned their back on greyhound racing, saying it’s a cruel and abhorrent sport. Yet, when you look at it, there are far fewer dogs put to sleep than horses in terms of the number of runs there are. So, arguably, horseracing is more dangerous than greyhound racing. But it’s not about danger. It’s about trying to mitigate any risk there is to racing, but also to maximise the welfare of animals involved.Philosophically, I think a lot of people now think, is it natural behaviour for dogs? In the same way, is it natural for horses to jump and race? Social licence is like a pendulum – it swings one way or another.”
Indeed, social licence has been a key factor in changing perceptions on greyhound racing. “As societal values evolve, there is increasing intolerance for industries perceived to exploit or harm animals for entertainment. While many involved in the greyhound racing industry do care about their dogs, media coverage revealing serious issues on and off the track and the results of independent reviews have further eroded public trust,” explains Vaughan. This is to say, even if the dogs are loved and cared for – “whether people like it or not, people who train, keep and run their dogs love them,” noted Bird – seeing animals hurt is a major social trigger. Figures of animal injury are something the GBGB reports on extensively to continue improving welfare, from deaths all the way to cut paws. “But once that data’s there, it can be used against us,” he says. It is a double-edged sword: While the number of fatalities has gone down by more than half in six years, according to Bird, “we’re realistic. We’re never going to get that down so that there are no fatalities at the track.”
So long as dogs are dying on the track, there will be opponents to the sport. But it does not seem this same mentality has translated quite as strongly to horseracing.
What can we learn?
We asked Vaughan what she feels are the biggest lessons the horseracing industry can take from the greyhound racing ban. She responded: “The greyhound racing ban in New Zealand provides critical insights for the horseracing industry, especially regarding the importance of maintaining a social licence... In New Zealand, the horseracing codes already take a proactive approach to improving welfare and welcoming stakeholder engagement. But addressing specific high-profile issues, such as whip use and jump racing, will be crucial to retaining public support.”
Indeed, remaining proactive also rung true for Bird. “We can’t be complacent,” he says. Despite “a meteoric change” in welfare standards, there is talk of a greyhound racing ban in Wales and Scotland. “We have to recognise what’s happened in New Zealand because it’s a fact,” he muses, before again emphasising a need to continuously improve on welfare. “That job is never done, it is a continuum.”
What does the future look like?
In New Zealand specifically, Bird noted that Peters’ statement may not mark the end for greyhound racing in the nation. “New Zealand is considering appealing against what’s happened there. You only have to look at New South Wales: The regional government there banned greyhound racing, only to bring it back a short time afterwards,” he says. But, for both operators and regulators, Bird noted, remaining “cognizant to what’s happening around social licence and what the general public want” is key. It is only through enhanced welfare that people can look at the sport and decide if it’s something they want to continue.
Indeed, creating more opportunities for welfare is at the top of the GBGB’s list. Bird explained that, currently in the UK, bookies are not required to pay a greyhound racing levy, with the program currently being voluntary. The GBGB has been protesting to make this levy mandatory, as it is with horseracing, to bolster animal welfare goals and industry integrity. Moreover, since the GBGB began operating in 2009, “there’s been no increase in the percentage that’s being paid, which is 0.6% of greyhound turnover. What that has meant is that the amount year-by-year has steadily gone down.
“More than three quarters of the money we get from that levy is put into welfare and integrity. We are going to get to a stage where we’re going to struggle to meet our welfare ambitions, unless that levy changes.”
While bookies unanimously agree with the GBGB’s welfare plans, it is the money aspect that raises challenges. Understanding the financial situation faced by many bookies, due to “a huge downfall in the amount of licensed betting offices (LBOs) over the last few years,” what affects operators affects the racing market too. “If there’s less money going into the LBOs or online and greyhound racing, we have less money too.”
Virtual greyhound racing was pointed to by Vaughan as an alternative “gaining traction in some countries,” with her prediction for the future being that “live racing may continue only in isolated regions with strong industry support.” It seems, then, the fact of the matter is clear. If greyhound racing is to survive, operators and regulators will need to step up their game. Otherwise, New Zealand may not be the only nation to let the dogs out.
