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Slow greyhounds get ‘death sentences’

Leading trainer Anthony Bullock has been suspended following the emergence of unsettling footage.

Leading trainer Anthony Bullock has been suspended following the emergence of unsettling footage. Photo: Getty

Australian greyhounds deemed too slow for racing are regularly being sent to Asia to live under cruel conditions and risk being culled.

Documents obtained by animal rights group Animals Australia and ABC’s 7.30 Report reveal dozens of animals being sent to Macau and China every month in trailers.

“The conditions are awful, it’s prison-like, barren cells, and in fact it really is like being exported to another country and put on death row,” Animals Australia Campaign Director Lyn White told 7.30.

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“For those dogs it’s actually a straight-out death sentence.”

The report estimated one greyhound died on Asian tracks each day, in part due to the squalid cages they are forced to live in.

It was also estimated that dozens of dogs were destroyed each month.

Sending dogs overseas in itself is not illegal, although racing laws dictate they must be sent with passports, or face penalties or disqualification from the sport.

Data obtained from the Department of Agriculture for the first half of this year revealed 168 greyhounds had been sent overseas without them.

Animals Australia has called on Barnaby Joyce to change the laws surrounding animal exportation, so the dogs could not be sent away without industry approval.

Meanwhile, Greyhounds Australia has slammed the government for failing to protect the greyhounds, or give them the opportunity to be adopted before they’re sent to Asia.

“The government’s reluctance to act on industry and community concerns risks adverse welfare outcomes for exported greyhounds and threatens Australia’s standing as a strong advocate for animal welfare,”  Greyhounds Australia Chief Executive Scott Parker said in a statement.

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