Deputy Prime Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters had backed greyhound racing months ago.
“Dogs love racing,” and MPs should visit a greyhound track to “watch them in the wild.”
That was Winston Peters appearing before a Select Committee just six months ago in June 2024, when he claimed banning the sport could land taxpayers in legal trouble—not because of any official advice, he later admitted, but based on his experience as a former lawyer.
The issue arose because Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE) said that between the commencement of the racing season in August 2023 and February of this year, there had been 5,051 injuries, 65 fractures and six deaths.
On Dec. 10, Peters fronted the media to announce that the tri-party coalition government would be outright banning greyhound racing in New Zealand from 2026 to “protect the welfare of the dogs.”
Dog Euthanasia to be Outlawed Under Urgency
Legislation will be passed under urgency to prevent any unnecessary killing of racing dogs as a result of the announcement, as it was feared owners would mass euthanise dogs if the industry were to be closed.
“Keeping unwanted dogs safe is a priority,” Peters said, describing them as “superbly good pets … and clean.”
“The government is working with animal welfare organisations to establish programmes to support rehoming,” he said.
“Despite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high, and the time has come to make a call in the best interest of the animals,” he said.
“While fewer dogs are dying, injury rates, while down slightly, have plateaued and remain unacceptably high.”
Greyhound Racing Body Says a 1,000 Workers At Risk
Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) CEO Edward Rennell expressed concern about the thousand people whose livelihoods depended on the industry.
“We believe that greyhound racing as an industry has taken huge, huge strides over the last two years and is leading the way in the racing industry from an animal welfare perspective, so the decision today is clearly very disappointing.”
He said New Zealand’s injury rate was in line with international benchmarks and lower than the Australian average, and the rate of euthanasia on race days was lower than that of the horse racing industry.
GRNZ had been providing quarterly reports to the minister and had requested a meeting to discuss the future of the industry.
“But we haven’t had that.”
Passing a law aimed at stopping widespread euthanasia was redundant because the organisation’s policy prevented an animal from being killed unless it was for genuine welfare reasons.
Praise on Both Sides of the Tasman
SAFE campaign manager Emma Brodie said the organisation was “incredibly relieved” by Peters’ announcement.
“This marks the end of an era of exploitation and a monumental win for animal rights in Aotearoa,” she said. “We think this decision to phase out greyhound racing reflects a growing recognition that New Zealanders won’t stand for cruelty disguised as entertainment.”
The announcement was also welcomed by New Zealand’s Green Party, which has long campaigned to ban greyhound racing.
The party’s Animal Welfare and Racing spokesperson, Steve Abel, has proposed an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill that would exempt renters from the requirement to pay a “pet bond” if they are rehoming a greyhound, and prevents landlords from using the greyhound’s breed as grounds to decline a renter from keeping one.
It will likely be voted on this week.
In Australia, the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) said the ban was an admission by the NZ government that “greyhound racing can never be reformed and is inherently dangerous. The only way to protect greyhounds is to shut down the industry.”
Animal rights activists and MPs from the Animal Justice Party have campaigned on this issue.
Horse Racing Industry Could Benefit
Peters’ New Zealand First party has long been the beneficiary of substantial donations from the horse racing industry, usually via a donation that receives donations below $15,000.01, at which donations must be publicly disclosed.
One example is Brendan Lindsay, who sold Sistema’s plastic container business for $660 million in late 2016.
A year later, he bought Sir Patrick Hogan’s renowned Cambridge Stud near Hamilton. In 2018, three lots of $15,000 were deposited into the bank account of the New Zealand First Foundation on Oct. 11—one in his name, one in the name of his wife Jo Lindsay, and a third listed as Lindsay Invest Donation.
Another is the Windsor Park stud, which in May 2017 gave $15,000 to the business and a further $5,000 to its owner, Nelson Schick.
As racing minister in every administration of which he’s been a part, Peters has delivered significant benefits to the industry, including millions of dollars of tax breaks and the ending of betting levies.
With the ban on greyhound racing, which took $612 million ($369.5 million) in wagers in 2022, the horse racing industry could benefit substantially.