Greyhound racing is being banned in New Zealand. Photo: Photosport
Winston Peters says he is aware of a greyhound trainer relocating their dogs to Australia for racing purposes ahead of the industry being banned in New Zealand.
The government announced last year it would end greyhound racing, to protect the welfare of racing dogs.
But despite Racing Minister Peters saying race dogs would not be "re-racetracked" overseas under new legislation, an Australian greyhound racing news outlet reported 80 New Zealand greyhounds were sent to Australia this week.
In a statement to RNZ, a spokesperson for the minister said there was currently no ban on trainers relocating their operations elsewhere.
But they said moving dogs to another country for racing would no longer be permitted under the government's re-homing plan that was currently being worked on by a ministerial advisory committee.
"As the Minister stated at the media conference on 10 December announcing the ban, when asked if the rehoming plan could simply be used to relocate dogs he responded "no, 'rehomed' not 're-racetracked (sic)" - that is why I used that phrase.
"The government remains committed to ending greyhound racing in New Zealand at the end of the 2025/26 season.
"We are confident a comprehensive re-homing programme will be developed which will provide a safe future for former racing dogs.
"This work is being done alongside legislation amending the Racing Industry Act."
They said the advisory committee was working with animal welfare groups to wind down the industry and re-home roughly 2900 racing dogs.
The committee would be reporting on their progress to the minister next month.
An animal rights advocate said it was deeply troubling the Greyhounds were relocated to Australia for racing.
SAFE head of campaigns Jessica Chambers said they expected more clarity on how the government planned to re-home former race dogs this month, but it did not come soon enough.
"These poor dogs have had their chance at freedom from racing taken away from them.
"We hope the minister will take swift action to ensure it doesn't happen again.
"It's clear the industry needs direct instructions."
She said since the ban was announced, six race dogs had died, 50 suffered broken bones, and 244 suffered injuries requiring stand-down periods.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
