Dogs Gone: New Zealand bans greyhound racing from 2026

Cover image courtesy of Photosport

There are only five nations globally where greyhound racing still operates being New Zealand, USA, Ireland, Australia, and Britain, but this is set to change with an announcement by New Zealand MP Winston Peters that greyhound racing will be banned in NZ from 2026.

“We acknowledge the work done by Greyhound Racing New Zealand to improve safety. While fewer dogs are dying, injury rates, while down slightly, have plateaued and remain unacceptably high,” Peters said in a statement on Tuesday. In 2019, 64 dogs were euthanised due to injury during a race, while this fell to nine in 2024. To put this in context, the Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) annual report in 2024 stated that 1166 dogs had 36,063 starts during the season.

Table: Euthanasia Due to Race Injury or Sudden Death (2018-2024)

As this table shows, there has been a big drop in the number of race day fatalities since GRNZ introduced new welfare standards, and one wonders why this reduction is not seen as valid.

“Further legislation to enable the end to greyhound racing is required. A bill to make the necessary changes to the Racing Industry Act 2020 will be introduced to Parliament in 2025. There will be a full select committee process so everyone will have a chance to have their say.

“An Advisory Committee has been appointed to help manage the transition process. The Committee members are Heather Simpson (Chair), Murray Johnson and Lindsay Burton. They will provide advice on ensuring animal welfare, and support for those involved in the industry. Keeping unwanted dogs safe is a priority. The Government is working with animal welfare organisations to establish programmes to support rehoming.”

The number of deaths has fallen significantly

Given that the reasoning for the proposed ban is about numbers, what are the numbers? The number of deaths at the races has fallen dramatically since 2020 when GRNZ brought in new welfare rules, including rules around scratchings and wellbeing, racing start styles, track equipment and surface upgrades, and several other changes.

The Greyhound Racing New Zealand annual report outlines several important figures, including the outcomes for all dogs born by year since 2018, the injury rates at the races, and rehoming figures.

Table: The outcomes for all dogs born by year since 2018 as reported in the Greyhound Racing New Zealand annual report

The data shows a big drop off in the number of dogs born from 2021 to 2022, a reflection of the uncertainty around the industry leading into the 2021 Robertson Revi, while the percentage of dead dogs is falling per crop.

After the 2021 Robertson Review, GRNZ started to trace every dead dog and the reason why, and this data is presented in their annual report in an incredibly transparent method.

Table: Reason for euthanasia or death

What did Entain say?

Global betting company Entain signed a deal in 2023 to run the NZ TAB for the next 25 years, and only last week New Zealand were celebrating new legislation that would create a monopoly for the NZ TAB.

“This is a positive outcome which will have national impact,” said TAB NZ Chief Executive Nick Roberts at the time of the ‘legislative net’ announcement. “We estimate Kiwis lose $180 million annually to offshore racing and sports betting operators. Retaining this money in New Zealand will not only maximise funding to our communities instead of providing profits to foreign companies, but also ensure Kiwis can bet in a safe and regulated environment.”

TTR reached out to Entain for comment on the greyhound ban and were given the following statement.

“As the operators of the TAB and betcha brands, we are in regular conversations with our strategic partner TAB New Zealand about all aspects of our wagering operation in New Zealand. Following this decision, we will now work with TAB NZ and Greyhound Racing New Zealand around the priorities for greyhound racing and what role Entain is required to play,” said Entain in a statement.

Veterinarian and greyhound owner perspective

Dr Donald Arthur has a BVSc from Massey University and post-graduate studies from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. A keen greyhound and thoroughbred breeder, he hopes the thoroughbred industry steps up to help the greyhounds in New Zealand.

“What the New Zealand government have done is crazy. The government has been hijacked by animal activist groups. Some of those activists don’t like animals being farmed, so it’s a slippery slope to banning all animals,” said Arthur.

“The New Zealand government is allowing themselves to get shafted by activists. I hope the New Zealand public wake up and fight this ban. It’s unbelievable.”

Arthur’s veterinary practice is based in Canterbury, New Zealand, and employs ten veterinarians, working in both agriculture and with small animals.

“In our practice we see pig hunting dogs that are seriously hurt by that. Their injuries are a lot more serious than those we see in greyhound racing. Sometimes they come in with guts hanging out of their abdomen, and they’ve been like that for several hours as they are hiked back out of the bush to us.”

Greyhounds are treated immediately by on track veterinarians, and GRNZ has started to track all injuries at the races, noting the severity of injury by the time spent away from the races.

Table: The outcomes for all dogs born by year since 2018 as reported in the Greyhound Racing New Zealand annual report

“With dog breeding, a lot of people are breeding dogs with genetic defects that create long term problems, like brachycephalic dogs with short noses that have breathing problems. Or dogs with very short legs with degenerative joint problems. Most pure-bred dogs have genetic issues. Anything we use animals for, we have to be careful how we look after them. I think greyhounds are doing a good job at improving welfare conditions and they are getting better over time.

It's time to step up and make some noise

“I love thoroughbreds. I own both greyhounds and racehorses, and the thoroughbred industry does need to be worried (about the impact of the ban) and I’d love to see the thoroughbred (industry participants) in New Zealand fight the ban and help the greyhound industry," said Arthur.

“Thoroughbreds will be the next target if we don’t win this fight. The Australian thoroughbred industry is so intertwined with New Zealand, it’ll be good to see Australia get involved and get some sense into our politicians.”

Last week, Winston Peters announced he would introduce a bill to parliament to create a “legislative net” granting Entain and the TAB NZ the exclusive rights for online racing and sports betting in New Zealand.

“Last week’s deal was a sweetener to Entain, knowing that he was going to hit them with this hammer this week. The revenue from greyhound racing in New Zealand has been growing, last month we had the New Zealand Cup at Christchurch, and the revenue at that meeting was up 40 per cent on last year, which is a huge lift in one year. I imagine that Entain that not happy with this decision and Peters was trying to give them a sweetener before he gave them the bad news.”

Racing Queensland response

Racing Queensland, which oversees all three racing codes, issued a statement to assure participants that the organisation remains committed to investing in greyhound racing.

“The Queensland greyhound industry continues to play an important role across the state. On an annual basis, greyhound racing contributes almost $350 million to the Queensland economy, whilst employing more than 2200 people. Remarkably, it’s economic impact has more than tripled since 2016,” said Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott in a statement.

“Earlier today, the New Zealand government announced that it would be discontinuing greyhound racing, providing a 20-month transition period before concluding in July 2026. Whilst bitterly disappoint for its local industry and participants, and those who have travelled across the ditch, the New Zealand Government’s response is in relation to its own unique political environment, people and circumstances.

“Racing Queensland understands the importance of all industry sectors working together to continue to improve animal welfare standards and outcomes.”

The statement then outlined several specifics that Racing Queensland are implementing on welfare including their new facility The Q being built at Purga west of Brisbane with three tracks and state of the art training facilities for greyhounds.

“Whilst we are sure that Queensland participants will be disheartened by today’s decision in New Zealand, we want to reiterate that Racing Queensland not only wants greyhound racing to survive, but to thrive, and a bright and prosperous future is on the horizon with the establishment of The Q.”