Canberra's greyhound club has called on the ACT government to reverse its ban and instead adopt the Tasmanian industry's new policy to track and rehome all racing dogs.
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The local greyhound industry has in recent weeks begun to pick up the momentum of a public campaign against the ACT government's decision to ban racing in Canberra.
The decision was made soon after NSW Premier Mike Baird banned greyhound racing, following an explosive report on links to live baiting and malpractice within the industry.
In following NSW, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it simply was not feasible for the ACT to maintain a racing industry here, when it was so heavily reliant on dogs, trainers, and officials from interstate.
The decision was applauded by the RSPCA, which had been campaigning for an ACT ban, citing evidence that some of those racing in Canberra had been linked with live baiting in NSW.
But the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club has now called on the government to follow the lead of industry in Tasmania.
The Tasmanian industry announced on Monday it would "work towards" rehoming greyhounds according to the RSPCA's euthanasia policy.
The policy would see every healthy racing greyhound rehomed "unless prevented by unavoidable health, behavioural or legislative reasons". The policy would be in place by July 2019, according to Tasracing, the industry's governing body.
The dogs would be tracked from the time they were born, through their racing career, and then through their lives as pets.
The Tasmanian government is yet to decide on the future of the greyhound racing industry, and is waiting on feedback from a parliamentary committee inquiry before making any announcement.
Canberra Greyhound Racing Club spokesman Kel Watt said the Tasmanian industry's approach provided a guarantee on the wellbeing of all greyhounds, without requiring the industry to be banned.
"There are clear responsibilities and lines of accountability. There is a clear model for future operations of the sport," he said.
"Everyone wins in this scenario. All issues around animal welfare, financial viability and transparency are fully addressed."
Mr Watt described the tracking process as a "cradle to grave" method of ensuring accountability.
But RSPCA ACT said the industry was just trying to delay the inevitable.
Chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said the public was overwhelmingly supportive of the ban.
"It seems like the local greyhound racing industry has released a new plan or strategy every week since the ban was announced," Ms Ven Dange said.
"Polls and surveys have shown that the Canberra community are overwhelmingly in favour of banning greyhound racing. The ACT government has further recognised this verbally and in their own actions."
"As NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant stated, it was the 'noisy minority' opposing the government's decision."
