TAREE Greyhound Club secretary Peter Daniels has welcomed with some reservations news yesterday that the ban on greyhound racing in NSW would be overturned.
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NSW cabinet ministers officially signed off on a plan to reverse the ban yesterday.
However, this will mean less meetings and less clubs and that concerns Mr Daniels.
“Until I see the full plan I can’t make too much comment,’’ Mr Daniels said soon after the news was announced
“If they’re going to get rid of clubs then for us this could be as bad as the ban.’’
He said there had been speculation before the ban was announced earlier this year that one or two of the three Lower North Coast clubs – Taree, Wauchope and Kempsey could be shut down as part of a rationalisation of the industry in NSW. Taree had also been mentioned as a possible venue for a greyhound centre of excellence before the ban was announced.
“We were told that there were too many tracks in too small an area,’’ Mr Daniels said.
“When I first came here we conducted 44 meetings a year here. Now we run 15.’’
Mr Daniels said that Taree had been previously identified as a ‘strong greyhound area‘ that should conduct TAB meetings.
Club president Des McGeachie told the Times last week that Taree was in a position of strength before the ban in terms of finance along with the strength of fields at its meetings.
Meanwhile ministers said the government proposal will put in place tough penalties with a greater emphasis on animal welfare and dealing with cruelty through more funding for RSPCA and other groups, and increased funding for rehoming capabilities in NSW.
“We’re the most financial we’ve been in our history,’’ he said.
No new tax dollars will be given for track upgrades but the industry will fund this through the sale of some tracks.
An oversight body will be tasked over the next few months to draw up a new governance, regulatory structure and all the finer details. That body will include representatives from RSPCA and the Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) and other eminent individuals.
Ministers have told the ABC the new deal will be a reversal of the ban but with some conditions and some of the key changes will be the same as those proposed by the greyhound industry, including:
+Capping breeding to 2000
+Reducing the number of tracks
+Reducing the number of race events
+Whole-of-life dog cycle management
+$1500 bond for every dog bred.
