The Canberra greyhound industry has again been told it has no future in the territory, after NSW parliament passed its legislation to ban racing on Wednesday morning
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A significant majority of the NSW parliament voted to ban greyhound racing, despite the industry launching a public campaign to save itself, and several Nationals MPs breaking ranks and crossing the floor.
The passing of the ban had "significant ramifications for the ACT", Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Wednesday.
Mr Barr again confirmed greyhound racing will end in the ACT, and there had been "no change in the ACT government's position", despite the club expressing hope on Tuesday that the territory had softened its position.
The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club has suggested there are legal impediments preventing the ACT from unilaterally banning the industry, without a proper inquiry.
Mr Barr said that was not a concern.
"Legislation can be changed, as has been the case in NSW," he said.
The government says the ACT industry is simply not viable without NSW, given its dependence on interstate regulators, trainers, officials, and dogs.
But greyhound lobbyists met with Racing Minister Mick Gentleman on Tuesday, presenting a series of options that could save the industry locally. It included linking with Victorian regulators and trainers, or building a centralised kennel, breeding, and racing facility, subject to 24/7 surveillance to ensure proper treatment of animals. It also included implementing a 100 per cent re-homing and tracking policy.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Barr was asked on ABC radio whether the options put forward by the greyhound industry were "just pie in the sky".
Mr Barr replied: "Yes, that's correct."
RSPCA ACT issued a statement after the passing of NSW's legislation.
Chief executive officer Tammy Ven Dange welcomed the news, and said it would significantly impact Canberra.
She said the overwhelming majority of those participating in ACT greyhound racing were from NSW.
"With the new legislation prohibiting racing and training in NSW, we believe that this will have a considerable impact on greyhound racing in the ACT as our estimates believe that about 93 per cent of all participants are indeed NSW residents," she said.
Ms Ven Dange said RSPCA ACT would work with the NSW government taskforce overseeing the ban, helping to re-home as many dogs as it could.
"We appreciate the challenge to re-home so many dogs at once is beyond difficult, but we'll do what we can to help NSW based greyhounds with the support of the Canberra community," she said.
