Description
GES believes that education, not legislation, is the most important objective in increasing Pet Greyhound Welfare and responsible ownership in Australia. We are a group of concerned private residents across Australia who see obvious shortcomings in the current manner in which greyhounds are treated and understood by society. We feel it is high time to rectify this.
The Greyhound Equality Society’s aim is to increase the welfare of pet and racing Greyhounds in Australia and Worldwide. We act as the voice of pet Greyhound owners, representing the interests of its members, encouraging debate and actively driving law reform issues through policy submissions and open dialogue with Governments, Parliamentary Bodies and the Greyhound Racing Industry. Our primary objective is to provide government officials, pet Greyhound owners and the general public with evidence based information on the current laws and situations regarding Greyhounds in Australia and Worldwide.
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RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS
facebook.comSarah Jane May - art
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas 🎄 I received a surprising Christmas present from my partner this year. I opened my present from him and I was quite disappointed that all I got from him was picture hanger wire. About 15 min later, he brought this massive thing wrapped in plastic garbage bags into the house and I thought "oh nice, the picture hanger wire was just a joke - the real present is a picture he bought us". But no, while he started unwrapping this massive thing, he explained that he had bought us a whiteboard, so that we could write down all our household chores! I was so furious that he thought this was an appropriate Xmas present and where would we even put it? Did he expect me to hang a whiteboard up the wall in our living area?! However, I then caught a glimpse of what was underneath the plastic wrapping: He had commissioned an original painting of our greyhound Sissy by the excellent Melbourne artist Sarah Jane May (check her out on facebook: Sarah Jane May - art)! The painting captures the personality of our Sissy perfectly. I love this picture so much! Best present ever! Thank you so much Sarah Jane for doing such a wonderful job and of course to my hubby John ❤️ -Sonja
Greyhounds Make Greyt Pets
Beautiful! Merry Christmas!
Timeline Photos
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year everyone. Thank you so much for your support and please give your hounds a big Christmas kiss from all of us at GES xxxx
Normal play - Greyhounds
Is the widespread use of basket and barking muzzles during training and kenneling detrimental to the well-being of greyhounds? We asked GES veterinary advisor and veterinary behaviour consultant, Dr Karen Dawson BSc BVSc Hons MANZCVS (Behaviour)..... “Well, yes, clearly they can be detrimental, and punitive, for several reasons. They may allow the dog to pant and drink but they do not permit the dog to groom or perform other calming behaviours. This can compromise their wellbeing. The routine use of any device that prevents an animal from engaging in normal species specific behaviours must be questioned. Muzzles don’t address the underlying emotional state of the greyhound, which is often negative; hence the perceived widespread need for them in the first place. I believe there is confusion between predatory behaviour and inter dog aggression; the latter is founded in frustration, fear and anxiety whilst the former is fun. Greyhounds may have thin skin, but the question to ask is why they may be (perceived) to be motivated to injure each other so readily during routine, every day activities. Aggression in well-adjusted dogs should be the exception. Normal play involves self-handicapping and role reversal to prevent injury to the other parties. The inability to read another dog or respond appropriately to its cues is often a sign of frustration, anxiety, stress, a lack of appropriate socialisation or a combination thereof. It is also very concerning from a welfare perspective that such devices (barking and basket muzzles) are considered a necessity on race day or whilst in kennels. Just because anxiety, reactivity or maladaptive arousal is common, it does not make it normal. Therefore, the notion that basket muzzles are a necessity should not be “normalised”. In summary, the widespread belief that they cannot be trusted to be “turned out” with each other without a basket muzzle is more to do with a lack of understanding of what constitutes normal canine behaviour rather than good husbandry". Enjoy the video of stress free greyhounds; well socialised from an early age, playing without harm and without muzzles. Of course we are not advocating every greyhound can do this; therein lies the REAL problem if you think about it.
Photos from Greyhound Equality Society's post
Another slap on the wrist from the industry for serious animal cruelty by one of their own. From the Sydney Morning Herald: The greyhound industry's claim to have reformed has suffered a serious blow to its credibility, according to critics, after stewards absolved a greyhound trainer who was accused of ripping off the tip of his dog's tail to save the cost of an amputation. A Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) stewards' inquiry found there was insufficient evidence to prove that Gareth Miggins yanked off the end of his dog's tail after it was broken on the track, and that it was most likely severed during the race. The finding comes in spite of evidence given by the on-track veterinarian and the steward that the tip was still intact when they attended to it shortly after the race and video footage that appears to show the crooked tail intact as the dog was led from the field. Greyhound Wilby Mighty broke his tail after he collided with the running rail at Richmond on December 17, 2014 and was referred after the race to on-track veterinarian Greg Bryant. Dr Bryant told the inquiry that the tail was badly broken about nine centimetres from the tip and bones and ligaments were exposed. He gave the dog painkillers and bandaged the tail, telling Mr Miggins he would need to visit a vet clinic and have it amputated that day. According to evidence given by Dr Bryant and steward Norm Becroft, Mr Miggins seemed concerned about the cost of the operation and asked whether GRNSW would cover it. He then said that he did not know any local vets, so Dr Bryant wrote down the name of a nearby clinic before Mr Miggins took the dog to the kennels. However, a few races later a steward found a nine-centimetre portion of a dog's tail near the 400 metre box on the track. A tangle of nerves and tendons streamed from the open end. "We both knew what had happened," Dr Bryant told Fairfax Media. "There had only been one broken tail that day and it had been attached after I'd bandaged it." GRNSW charged Mr Miggins with removing a portion of the tail, failing to seek veterinary attention, not exercising reasonable care of a greyhound and making an improper statement, but two years after the event a steward's panel upheld only the second charge regarding veterinary attention and fined him $2000. Dr Bryant resigned from GRNSW in mid-2015 when an email from the chief steward convinced him that the investigation would not lead to any adverse findings against Mr Miggins. "Off the record, the panel shares your view that Mr Miggins is responsible for this heinous act and should be punished accordingly," Clint Bentley said in the email. "We just need to ensure we can satisfy ourselves and any further jurisdiction that will ultimately review our decision that somehow, somewhere Miggins did lop the greyhound's tail." GRNSW said these comments were a "preliminary opinion based on the particular information before the inquiry at that point in time". But Dr Bryant said he had known from that moment that the inquiry would exonerate Mr Miggins. "They just didn't want to find that he pulled the tail off," Dr Bryant said. "We had so much evidence and yet they still came out with a finding like that. I've been a vet for a long time and I've seen a lot of things and I've seen some really horrible things, but this would probably be the most corrupt thing I've ever seen." ** Wilby Mighty is now dead. He continued racing in QLD but was eventually euthanised. - Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/greyhound-trainer-cleared-of-ripping-off-dogs-tail-20161217-gtd9dq.html
www.greyhound-equality.org
Finally, the full story of Lucy, the assistance greyhound, travelling in the CABIN on Qantas Airlines from Sydney to Singapore, is here! Read about Dawn and Lucy's latest adventure which propelled them thousands of miles from Australia to Singapore. GES team members Dawn and Lucy are both truly amazing! We are so proud of both of them and their braveness and we wish them all the very best for their new life in Singapore and all their future adventures together as a team <3 http://www.greyhound-equality.org/article2.html
Greyhound in Quantas Cabin
Our GES team member Dawn and her assistance greyhound Lucy recently travelled from Sydney to Singapore. Because Lucy is a special assistance dog, she can accompany Dawn in cabin. Greyhounds are not unicorns, they are dogs. Therefore, they can be assistance dogs too! This short video of their journey is a teaser for a more detailed story with lots of photos coming up on our page in the next days. With grateful and heartfelt thanks from Dawn and Lucy to Cath Phillips and Gayl O'Grady of mindDog Australia, Qantas Special Assistance, cabin crew of QF81 on 26 November 2016, AVA Singapore, and AQIS Australia. [4:28min clip]
Timeline Photos
Don't set your dogs up to fail ........ This is a great read and totally debunks good old Cesar Milan's theory.... https://dogguy.net/2016/12/04/leadership-the-most-dangerous-word-in-dog-training/
Photos from Greyhound Equality Society's post
Thanks everyone for coming to Greyhound rescue victoria and GES's hound behaviour seminar today. Dr Karen Dawson gave us some invaluable insight into greyhound behaviour today. The first two hours of the seminar focused on the life cycle and why this predisposes to wastage and also touched on the evidence provided to the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into Greyhound Racing. The second part of the seminar was tailored specifically to the foster carers and the challenges they face in transitioning a greyhound from the track into a home. We saw some confronting and thought provoking footage and had the chance to ask some questions on specific greyhound behaviour. I think we all learned alot and will look at our greyhounds through different eyes after today. We will also be alot more critical about the proposed measures by the industry to improve wastage. It was a pleasure to meet you all and hear your thoughts! Thanks again for coming - it meant a lot to us and the team at Greyhound Rescue Victoria. Speak the truth even if your voice shakes! - Sonja and Jennifer from GES
Hound Behaviour Seminar
Hound Behaviour Seminar in Melbourne tomorrow!Last day to pay for your spot if you would like to attend tomorrow. Please pay via bank transfer or paypal and then email us greysrescue@outlook.com
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THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? A thought provoking and deeply personal article was published over the weekend in The Age - Good Weekend. It's written by Melanie Sheppard and tells the story of her own fathers struggle with remorse over his part in the slaughter of race horses that he owned, raced, bred and 'loved'. The correlation between horse racing and greyhound racing and the cruelty and 'wastage' in both industries is never not noticed by those with a conscience. This story could just as easily be from the daughter of a racing greyhound owner who realised that what he had done, was just wrong....... "Not a week goes by when my father doesn't recall his racing days and the guilt that comes with them. "Any person who brings a living creature into this world has a duty of care to ensure they are looked after for the duration of their life," he tells me. "I failed to do this." My father's involvement in the horse racing industry lasted 20 years; in 2004 he decided he'd had enough. The elation of winning events such as the AJC Derby and Caulfield Cup was always overshadowed by the guilt he carried. "We love our horses when they are performing," he reflects. "We groom them, talk to them, and admire their athletic appearance and ability. Then we turn our back on them if they fail to live up to our expectations." RIP Wolvette Full article here: http://www.theage.com.au/good-weekend/the-daughter-of-a-former-thoroughbred-breeder-confronts-the-reality-horses-face-20161117-gsrdb3.html
Timeline Photos
I hope you can join me, Greyhound Rescue Victoria and the Greyhound Equality Society at the upcoming Hound Behaviour Seminar. The last 12 months have been tumultuous for anyone with more than a passing interest in greyhound welfare. Personally, it has been a journey almost 25 years in the making. I would like to share some of that journey with you; the ups and the downs, the wins and the losses and the where to from here? Atrocities such as live baiting, on track injury, illicit drug use and euthanasia are obvious. In many ways, it is somewhat easy for industry to be seen to be addressing these issues via improved track design, surveillance, swabbing and forced rehoming attempts. As a veterinary behaviour consultant with a large case load of pet greyhounds, the more significant, possibly insurmountable and still poorly understood issue from which arguably all others stem, is the compromised psychological state of the dogs. To effectively advocate for welfare improvement and change, and recognise when this is actually happening vs being merely more meaningless words, we first must really understand the issues, as unpalatable as they may be. Ultimately though, I hope our discussion will empower attendees to continue to fight for tangible change and to perhaps reconsider the true meaning of good welfare from the greyhound’s perspective; after all it is the only one it has. Dr Karen Dawson BSc BVSc Hons MANZCVS (Behaviour) Follow the link to register: https://web.facebook.com/events/1786902741581767/
Quiz
