Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill.

SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on Parliament’s website.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I move, That the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.

As announced today, it is intended that the greyhound racing industry in New Zealand will close by 1 August 2026. It is important, first, to acknowledge that this news is not the decision those in the industry wanted. There are approximately 1,054 people directly and indirectly supported by the greyhound racing industry, who work in and around the six tracks across the country. It is because of these people that this decision has been a very hard one to make. However, it is the right one and comes after serious consideration.

Successive reviews over the last 10 years have reported animal welfare concerns in the greyhound racing industry. In 2013, 2017, and 2021, different reviews all came to the same conclusion that things needed to change. In 2021, following the review into the New Zealand greyhound industry by Sir Bruce Robertson, the industry was put on notice. Since my returning as Minister for Racing last year, the greyhound racing industry has continued to be carefully monitored, with particular focus on greyhound injuries.

Consideration was given to whether stricter regulation could improve greyhound racing in a way which would allow it to continue safely. However, this was not convincing and showed that injury rates would not improve to a level which could be socially acceptable. The industry has made genuine efforts, particularly within recent years, to address the animal welfare issues, and this should be acknowledged, especially in regard to dog deaths. However, despite the multiple safety initiatives by Greyhound Racing New Zealand, injuries and serious injuries persistently remain too high.

In addition to these realities about injuries, public support for greyhound racing in New Zealand has declined. A poll commissioned by the SPCA, and updated within the last month, showed that 75 percent of New Zealanders would vote for an end to greyhound racing in a referendum. Worldwide, greyhound racing is also on the decline. We are one of only five countries where commercial greyhound racing remains legal. It is for these reasons and against this backdrop that the Government today has made this tough but correct decision.

A two-stage legislative process has intentionally been chosen to close the industry. Two bills will, collectively, ensure that the animal welfare of the greyhounds is protected throughout this transition period through to closure and that licensed persons and stakeholders are supported through the closure process. This first bill today is to ensure that dogs are not needlessly put down. A second bill will follow next year and will be concerned with winding up the industry the right way. This will cover all remaining operational aspects of the closure.

This will give affected persons an opportunity to submit at the select committee process to have their say on how best to support them and greyhounds to transition out of the industry. The transition to closure will be complicated and will require careful consideration. This is why the Government has appointed a ministerial advisory committee to oversee and provide advice on the remaining operational aspects of the closure. For the near 3,000 greyhounds leaving the industry, the advisory committee will work with charities concerned with rehoming greyhounds to support the greyhounds moving from the track to the couch, so to speak.

I now wish to speak to the details of this first bill. This bill, as I say, amends the Racing Industry Act 2020 to prohibit the destruction of greyhounds that are registered with Greyhound Racing New Zealand unless it is done by a veterinarian and for the reasons in accordance with this bill. The Government expects most, if not all, people in the industry will do the right thing by their dogs. However, there is a risk with the announcement of the Government’s decision today that some otherwise healthy dogs could be destroyed for no other reason than that they are no longer economically valuable. This bill will ensure their safety.

This applies Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s comprehensive euthanasia policy to currently registered greyhounds, regardless of whether their owners choose to exit the industry, as well as puppies born to breeding females, to ensure that they too are protected. Under this bill, a main reason a greyhound may be euthanised is when a veterinarian certifies that the greyhound is suffering from a condition or injury that causes significant pain or discomfort or worsens their quality of life so that it is inhumane or would otherwise compromise the welfare of the greyhound to delay euthanasia. This bill is, essentially, to put in protections for greyhounds as the operational plan for the closure is worked through with the industry as it winds down.

This industry has run its course, and this bill is the first step in the closure of the greyhound racing industry. It is a quick but necessary step, and could I thank, across the political divide, the other parties in Parliament—all the other parties in Parliament—for their committed support for this action. Thank you very much.

Kia orana, Mr Speaker. It’s my opportunity as Labour’s racing spokesperson to take a call on this. It’s the first piece of legislation in the racing portfolio that has come to the House. I want to acknowledge the comments that the Minister has made in concluding his contribution and indicate what is already known, and that is that members on this side of the House in the Labour Party will be supporting this bill. This bill is vital. This bill is a core step in ensuring that there is a humane level of treatment for greyhounds, alongside consideration for ethical standards and also for animal welfare as well.

The Minister has touched on the potential impact that this decision will have for participants within the industry and, yes, he is correct in that particular space. It is hoped that by signalling a particular time frame through to August 2026 that that does provide some runway for those industry participants to do the right thing. This particular bill that the House is progressing tonight is the first part in, basically, bringing an end or a conclusion to greyhound racing in New Zealand.

The second part, as the Minister has said, will be subject to a full select committee process, but it is this particular bill that is progressing through urgency to ensure that there is an absolute form of protection for dogs as this bill comes into effect overnight.

There have been a number of reports over the last decade that have looked into greyhound racing: the suitability, some of the decisions that have been taken, the way in which that operation has gone about their business. The most recent of those are the Hansen report in 2017 and the Robertson report in 2021. I’ll talk more about those specifically in perhaps my second reading contribution. Fundamentally, they touched on issues of transparency but also real, strong concerns around animal welfare considerations.

Throughout this whole time, members on this side of the House—members in the Labour Party—have shone a spotlight on this issue and the concerns that we have. We have agreed with the view that the industry participants and the industry itself, when it comes to greyhound racing, have been on notice. There has been a need to do better, and we have now got to that point where the social licence that has been given to that particular component of the industry is no longer valid. It is on that basis that we very happily support this piece of legislation this evening.

It also aligns with the community expectations that show a very clear and real desire to not just cease greyhound racing but to ensure that we are, when we look around the world, also doing the right thing. The Minister has touched on the number of countries that still have greyhound racing within their particular boundaries or confines, and some other members may choose to touch on that. I do think it’s worth noting that the whole consideration about whether regulation would be a more appropriate way—absolutely, I think this Parliament does need to turn its mind as to whether that was appropriate or not. Clearly, we have got to a particular point in time where regulation is not an option. It was an option, but it’s no longer an option, simply given the state of affairs that we find ourselves in.

The focus needs to very clearly be on transitioning this industry and its participants in a safe way to signal a very clear desire and an absolute willingness to rehome as many greyhounds as is possible. What this bill does is it, basically, provides an additional layer of protection involving a veterinarian—a professional in this particular space—alongside the existing policy framework that exists within Greyhound Racing New Zealand to ensure that that transition process is a smooth one but also it can be a timely one in terms of giving a runway in that regard as well.

We do support all stages of this particular bill being progressed to provide the certainty that participants will need as part of this decision that has been taken by the Government and will be supported by the Parliament. On that basis, I commend this bill to the House currently and through the remaining stages this evening.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This is a very good day for the welfare of greyhounds; they have a right to live without suffering. After years of advocacy by animal welfare experts and veterinary experts and the Green Party, we are very happy to hear the Government has listened to the voices of animal lovers country-wide and taken a long-overdue decision to bring an end to greyhound racing on 1 August 2026. I will be glad, today, to remove my bill to ban greyhound racing from the ballot—a bill that I inherited from the honourable Chlöe Swarbrick, who also advocated for a long time in this space.

I particularly want to acknowledge the decisive decision by the Minister for Racing, the Hon Winston Peters, to take this action today. Minister, this is an important decision and it is a very special one, as you said in your statement earlier today. We acknowledge, also, the willingness of the Minister to have his office involve us in discussions about how best to achieve an outcome in the best interests of the animals, and it’s good to see today he has the assurance that the entire House will be supporting the legislation.

Racing is inherently dangerous for dogs. On any given day at a greyhound race, dogs risk suffering from broken bones, dislocations, ruptured muscles, spinal damage, and wounds. Some dogs are left permanently disabled, and others suffer injuries so catastrophic they need to be euthanised. Multiple investigations in the industry reveal countless issues beyond injuries, including poor kennel conditions and methamphetamine exposure, and—even under intense scrutiny—the industry’s efforts have not been sufficient to address these fundamental problems.

I do, however, want to acknowledge that the industry and some members of it have made significant efforts in recent times. We met with Edward Rennell from Greyhound Racing New Zealand, and I came away from that meeting convinced that he had a genuine commitment to trying to achieve the best outcomes for dogs. I would appeal to Greyhound Racing New Zealand to do all in your power to ensure that we centre the welfare and the protection of greyhounds in this time, which, no doubt, will be a difficult time for the industry. In the winding-down of greyhound racing in New Zealand, we must ensure the dogs are kept safe, and we must also rightly acknowledge the impact it will have on workers and those who depend on the industry.

We will certainly be supporting this legislation before us at this moment, which is to ensure that any euthanising of dogs is done for the appropriate reasons, not done purely because they cease to be of economic value to the owners. This is a sensible move to pass this particular and specific first move fast through the House, in the cause of protecting the welfare of animals, and we will be commending this bill to the House. Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to speak in support of the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill. I just want to acknowledge what the Minister for Racing has said: that this is the first bill in two pieces of legislation, with his announcement today that the Government has agreed in principle to end greyhound racing in 20 months—that is 1 August 2026. I want to acknowledge that this transition will have a major impact on those involved in the greyhound industry, and so I think that it is good that we are going to have that transition period and a full select committee process around the other bill which the Minister spoke to.

As has been already acknowledged in this House, the vast majority of dog owners do care for their animals, and I want to stress that. However, this bill—which we are putting through under urgency and we’ll have all stages of reading today—is to ensure that there are no unnecessary deaths from the announcement that was made today. I am comforted that the actual Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s own euthanasia policy is actually referenced in the bill, and so I think that shows that the industry has done some thinking on what is appropriate in this area. There is much work to be done in rehoming the around 2,900 racing greyhounds, but I know some groups have already put up their hands to work alongside the Government and Greyhound Racing New Zealand in that project. This is a bill that does need to be put through under urgency—it is a piece of public policy which needs to be done to ensure there are no unintended consequences from what the Government has announced today. ACT will be supporting it and commends it to the House.

The National Party strongly supports the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill and its passing under urgency today, taking effect very, very soon. This is a good day for the 2,900 greyhounds—approximately—that are out there up and down New Zealand. The welfare of racing dogs is a priority for this Government, and, as we’re hearing today, across this House. This 20-month transition period, as we wind down the greyhound industry, ensures an orderly process, including support for affected individuals and the rehoming of racing dogs. This will enable us to collaborate with animal welfare organisations and to establish rehoming programmes and to save the welfare of those dogs. I commend the bill.

Tēnā rā koe e te Pīka, otirā tēnā rā tātou e te Whare. E tū ana ahau ki te waha i ngā kōrero mō Te Pāti Māori i te rangi nei, ā, e kaha tautoko ana mātou i tēnei o ngā pire—I stand on behalf of Te Pāti Māori in support of this bill. I’d also like to acknowledge the Deputy Prime Minister and his party for bringing this into the House. I will be taking a short call today to make sure we don’t prolong this process and to enact this bill as soon as possible.

Greyhound racing will be phased out in Aotearoa New Zealand over the next 20 months. Urgent laws will prevent the unnecessary killing of racing dogs during this transition. The sport won’t stop immediately but will be phased out gradually over the next 20 months to allow time to rehome the estimated 2,900 racing dogs in the industry.

Urgent laws are also being passed to prevent racing dogs from being killed amid moves to end the sport. In the most recent 2023 to 2024 season, Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s animal welfare report said nine dogs were euthanised because of injuries suffered during a race, up from seven the season before; 224 dogs suffered serious injuries; and a further 672 had injuries classified as minor or medium in the past season, according to the report. The SPCA has called this decision a great day for the greyhounds.

Nō reira, e tautoko katoa ana mātou Te Pāti Māori i tēnei o ngā pire. Tēnā koutou.

[Therefore, we in Te Pāti Māori wholeheartedly support this bill. Thank you all.]

Like many children of the 1980s, my first experience of greyhound racing came through the first ever episode of The Simpsons and Santa’s Little Helper some 35 years ago. Over those 35 years, I’ve gradually learnt more about the animals involved and about the welfare of these greyhounds. Indeed, I think that, over that time, many New Zealanders have learnt more, and, indeed, attitudes have changed to the point that now our Government is the first Government that will phase out greyhound racing in New Zealand.

Of course, animal welfare is first and foremost, and that’s why this legislation is so important. As simple and short as it may be, it puts the welfare of these almost 3,000 animals in New Zealand first and foremost, and so this Christmas, Santa’s Little Helper is our Government. I commend it to the House.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I’m very pleased that we have arrived at this point, and arrived to the extent where the entire Parliament supports this move. I acknowledge the work of the Minister for Racing, and I thank him for the acknowledgment that he made of the work that was done to lead up to this. Actually, if you look at today, it’s one of those rare moments people keep asking us for, where the whole Parliament works together and we don’t take political potshots at each other; we acknowledge the work that our opponents have done to lead to this.

The fact is it’s not an easy decision to close an entire industry, because there are good people who will be affected by this decision, but as the various reviews showed—and the review period that greyhound racing was put under by the last Government, at the end of which I was the Minister—greyhound racing is inherently dangerous. It doesn’t matter how much attention and how much care and how much love people have for their animals; if the task itself is so dangerous that it leads to unacceptable levels of injury and unacceptable levels of death, then this was the only conclusion that we could reach.

There was a tremendous amount of work that went in by the industry to try and improve things, and they did make improvements, but, again, when 70 percent of the injuries occur on the corner and even now we don’t have the level of infrastructure to get around that—we have no real choice but to race them around on tight tracks—we weren’t making the improvements that would’ve been necessary for greyhound racing to maintain its social licence.

It was a difficult situation for me to be in, as a lifelong racing fan. Being Minister for Racing was my personal dream in politics—alongside others, obviously, but that was one thing I wanted to achieve—and what I faced was the prospect of banning one of the three codes, but the evidence was so clear that, as I say, despite the efforts, there really was no other option.

Now, I do have a regret. I regret that because Cyclone Gabrielle hit when it did, and the direction was that cyclone-related pieces of legislation would take priority and other things would need to take a step back, this could’ve happened before the last election. I personally regret that it hasn’t, but I’ve been reflecting on the speeches so far, and, actually, if we’re honest, if the previous Government introduced the legislation, I don’t think the whole of Parliament would’ve supported it. Leading into an election, I’m not sure that every party represented in Parliament would have got behind that piece of legislation. But we are today, and that has to be seen as a positive, because that is as clear a message as possible: that animal welfare is of the utmost importance to this Parliament and to this country.

As a proud owner of a greyhound, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage anybody that is considering taking on a dog and introducing a dog into their family: please consider a greyhound. They are the most gentle, loving, caring, fun animals anyone could ever imagine. Anyone that lives in an apartment and says, “I don’t have the space for a dog.”—try a greyhound. They are all the things I’ve just mentioned, but they are also incredibly lazy. Give them a walk in the morning and they will curl up in the corner quite happily, and when you’re not looking—well, this is the case for my greyhound anyway—they will jump on the couch; and when they hear you coming back to your office, they will jump off the couch. They are smart as well. You could not ask for a better pet to introduce to your family, as a companion for an elderly relative or a friend to a young child. They are simply the best pet you could ever hope for.

That’s what I think we should focus on today, acknowledging the difficulty that’ll be faced by those that are impacted by this decision, but, essentially, what we are collectively doing today is committing to a good life for a good animal that will be a loving part of any good family. I couldn’t support this bill more.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I may not be a greyhound owner like the previous speaker, being the owner of a Jack Russell instead, but I know just how vital dogs in general are to us as New Zealanders. Today is a great day for greyhounds—it’s a great day for greyhounds.

Yes, it is a difficult decision for us to make as a Government, and it’s great to have the support from across the House, but it’s the right decision. We’re making the right decision, and we’ll be working through this legislation as it comes through the House and as it progresses today. I just commend the Minister, and I commend the bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a real pleasure to take a call today as Labour’s animal welfare spokesperson in support of the Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Bill.

Can I begin by acknowledging and thanking the Minister for Racing who has brought this bill to the House today and for his announcement. As previous speakers have said, this is a great day for greyhounds. I am well known to be a dog lover and dog owner, but I am sorry to disappoint my colleague Kieran McAnulty that I think my husband would probably seek some legal proceedings himself if I took on a greyhound in addition to the two labradors I’ve brought home from the SPCA. Can I just acknowledge him for looking after those dogs while I’m here. It’s a burden and a joy.

I think the bill that we’re bringing forward today that the Minister’s introduced to the House is a fantastic bill to ensure that while the industry is transitioned through a process, we can do everything we can as a Parliament to ensure the safety of greyhounds who are currently racing in the industry. This specific bill will ensure that there are safeguards in place for dogs who may be at risk of being harmed as a result of today’s announcement. I’ll have more to say in future readings around, I guess, how we got here, but I just wanted to focus specifically on the animal welfare clauses in the bill today, just to note those.

The Animal Welfare Act doesn’t create a right to life or restrict owners from killing healthy dogs for solely economic purposes, so what this bill will do is create an offence of imprisonment of up to 12 months or fines of up to $50,000 if someone were to breach the law that we’re going to pass today. What the bill does is it incorporates Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s own euthanasia policy. Others have spoken about that, but, essentially, euthanasia of a greyhound that is registered as a racing dog would need to occur within that policy and with the oversight of a veterinarian, which I think is a very, very good thing to ensure we don’t have any unintended consequences from today’s announcement.

Like other speakers, I do want to acknowledge the industry. I have also met with Edward Rennell of Greyhound Racing New Zealand and I do want to acknowledge there have been some improvements to the industry over the past few months. We have seen a reduction in deaths. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a big enough reduction in the number of injuries that are occurring to dogs. One of the things that we saw was—and I’ll talk to it a little bit later in a future contribution—a beginning of some work around straight tracks. I was part of the select committee that looked at the petition of Steve Cross during the previous Parliament. One of the things that frustrated us as a committee was that for many, many years there had been talk about straight tracks, that these were safer for dogs, but we hadn’t seen any introduced.

I understand that people, like Edward, were working and had introduced a trial of a straight track at Whanganui, but in my view it didn’t go far enough—it didn’t go fast enough—and we hadn’t seen enough change to say that this industry had changed, had done everything it could to protect the welfare of dogs, and, in my view, it has lost its social licence to operate.

Today’s decision is a very, very good decision. It needed to have the appropriate analysis; robust analysis provided to it. I want to acknowledge previous racing Ministers Grant Robertson and Kieran McAnulty, who did a lot of that initial work, and now the Minister, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, who has taken that step. We support you in your decision. We will support you through the process over the next couple of years as we work with industry and work with animal welfare organisations to rehome these dogs.

Today’s legislation is very, very needed to ensure that there are no unintended consequences for these dogs, who do make wonderful, wonderful pets. It’s a fantastic announcement, a fantastic bill we’re passing today, and I commend it to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This bill, as has been previously stated today, will ensure that a transitionary period for those in the greyhound racing industry is enacted and that the welfare of the dogs in the industry is ensured. We should also acknowledge the significant impact that this decision will have on the workers and their families within the industry, and it’s really important that they are supported. That’s why a dedicated ministerial advisory committee has been established to oversee a transition and to provide targeted advice to all those that have been impacted. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

This bill is set down for second reading immediately.

Second Reading