The announcement that more than 2000 retired greyhounds have been re-homed into pet life in the space of just 12 months - a record for Greyhound Racing NSW - has been hailed as a milestone moment and big success.
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New Chief Executive Officer of GRNSW Rob Macaulay said that these latest figures, finalised as part of GRNSW's annual reporting for the financial year of 2021-2022, had set a new benchmark.
"As the recently appointed CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW, I am proud to be able to announce this very significant result for all of our sport's re-homing initiatives," Mr Macaulay said.
"I congratulate everyone involved - the participants, our regional program coordinators and all Greyhounds As Pets staff.
"This has been an ongoing and concerted effort, and the result for the past 12 months of reporting show the rewards of those efforts.
"There are many families across regional and rural NSW and in metropolitan NSW that now have the world's best pet lounging on their couches.
"As any greyhound owner knows, they are magnificent animals."
While Greyhound Racing NSW continues to achieve new standards across all areas of the sport, Mr Macaulay said the organisation is especially proud of its welfare and re-homing achievements.
In FY 2021-22 GRNSW assisted in the re-homing of 2,014 greyhounds from the sport, supporting and assisting participants in transitioning their animals from their athletic careers into pet life.
The result was achieved through GRNSW's re-homing pathways that include its Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) centres at Wyee and Londonderry, Regional GAP programs around the state, and the Homing Assistance schemes, which provides financial assistance to greyhound owners to re-home within the sport, and through assisting other independent re-homing organisations to transition greyhounds from racing into life as a pet.
The minister for Racing Kevin Anderson praised the program and said animal welfare is at the forefront of everything the industry does.
"The greyhound racing industry is doing better than ever with record employment, prize money, and now, adoption numbers," Mr Anderson said.
"The NSW Government has remained committed to animal welfare through track upgrades and safety measures. The Greyhounds as Pets program gives us the assurance that the dogs are also being cared for long after retirement."
During the year, Greyhounds As Pets held a number of adoption days across NSW, again whenever possible around COVID-19 lockdowns, with the National Adoption Day in April at Moore Park being the most successful with a record 33 greyhounds adopted.
This article was produced as part of an ACM partnership with Greyhound Racing NSW.
