
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) has described greyhound racing as a "cruel sport" after a greyhound was injured in Moree on Saturday, November 23 and subsequently euthanised.
In race three, Greyhound Mighty Fever came into contact with the running rail soon after the jump and fell heavily, fracturing her scapula.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) said that the greyhound racing industry continues to inflict death and suffering on thousands of dogs every year.
"As we've seen at Moree, deaths are inevitable in a cruel sport that treats dogs as commodities and pushes them beyond their physical limits," CPG national vice president Dennis Anderson said.
"People in regional towns like Moree need to be aware of the carnage still occurring in a taxpayer-funded industry that continues to place gambling profits before animal welfare."
The CPG is a national organisation that has a long-term goal of banning greyhound racing, but in the meantime wants to improve the welfare of greyhounds.
"We've got a number of initiatives under way to attempt to do that, and one of those initiatives is to highlight to the public, to keep them informed, that deaths are continuing on the track all the time," Mr Anderson said.
"There were 96 deaths in the last financial year on the track, and about 35,000 dogs last year disappeared."
The CPG also works to rehome greyhounds as well as creating greyhound sanctuaries for retired racers.
Mr Anderson said they want the government to fund the privately operated greyhound rescue operations that currently rely on public donations.
"What we're saying is that because more greyhounds are rehomed through the private rehomers than the industry sponsored rehomers, that it's not fair that these private rehomers should be funded by public donations," he said.
Another aim of the CPG is looking at the state of the tracks to make them safer.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) conducted a study in 2017, commissioned by Greyhound Racing NSW, into track design aimed at reducing the amount of fatalities on the track.
UTS recommended a straight track, reducing the field from eight dogs to six, and putting the lure in the middle of the track rather than on the rail to stop the dogs from bunching up.
Mr Anderson said these recommendations are yet to be implemented by Greyhound Racing NSW, and the CPG has attempted to hold meetings with them with no success.
The race meeting in Moree on November 23 was just the second of the year in the town, but Mr Anderson just wants to keep people informed.
"Our main aim is to keep the public informed of what is going on in the greyhound industry," he said.