Animal Liberation Qld is calling for Tony Zammit, President of Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association, to either resign or be sacked.
Following the discovery of 55 greyhound carcasses in Bundaberg, in Thursday’s Courier Mail (“Racing rocked by grisly dog find”) Zammit was quoted as saying “It does make me angry if it’s been done inhumanely”.
“No matter how these dogs were killed, this is a tragedy for those animals, and it shows the callousness of many people in the industry”, said Animal Liberation Qld’s Hayley Cotton.
“Zammit’s comments suggest that he has no issue with killing the dogs and the terrible ‘wastage’ in the industry. He is completely out of touch with public opinion and should be sacked for those comments.
“The discovery of 55 greyhound carcasses is just the tip of the iceberg when we’re looking at an industry responsible for the death of some 18,000 dogs every year.
“With such huge numbers of dogs killed every year, we seriously question whether this industry should be allowed to continue at all”, added Ms Cotton.
Australia’s greyhound racing industry breeds up to 20,000 greyhounds every year. Around 12,000 are registered to race, with around 8,000 pups all unaccounted for (most of which are likely to he killed). 12,000 greyhounds are retired from the industry each year, but less than 2,000 are rehomed.
For further comment:
Hayley Cotton, Greyhound Campaigner – 0499 290 615 – [email protected]