There are renewed calls to ban greyhound racing in Aotearoa after a "devastating month" with more race-related deaths and injuries.
Late last week a greyhound died following a race in Christchurch - the second death in just two weeks after another dog died in similar circumstances in Whanganui.
The deaths have once again put the greyhound racing industry under the spotlight, just as a looming decision on the industry's fate is set to be decided by Racing Minister Winston Peters.
Newshub reported a couple of weeks ago that Peters would make a call on its future within weeks.
SAFE campaign manager Emma Brodie told AM on Tuesday it had been "a devastating month" for racing greyhounds.
Brodie described how two dogs within six days collapsed after their races and were pronounced dead before making it back to their kennels.
She added that earlier in May two other dogs suffered "catastrophic fractures" and had to be euthanised.
The industry has been 'on notice' for since 2021, but in that time there's been thousands of injured dogs and nearly 30 deaths.
"The industry has been on notice for over 1000 days now and over that time there's been over 2500 injuries, including 272 broken bones and now 26 deaths," Brodie explained.
"I think it's clear that, even under intense social and political scrutiny, that the greyhound industry is failing to safeguard the welfare of dogs.
"We're really hoping that the Racing Minister will make the right decision and ban greyhound racing."
Brodie said Peters had declined a meeting with SAFE to discuss the call for a ban.
While the greyhound racing industry has said it's done everything possible to show there are no grounds for its closure, Brodie said the rate of injuries was still "incredibly high" and a ban was "the only option at this point" to protect the dogs.
She also said beyond race day injuries and deaths, there were plenty of other issues with the industry, including dogs being exposed to harmful substances like methamphetamine and neglect or confinement in kennels.
A recent poll by animal welfare agency SPCA revealed 74 percent of Kiwis want to see greyhound racing banned.
"Public sentiment on greyhound racing is really, really clear - it doesn't align with the values and expectations of society," Brodie said.
Greyhound Racing NZ (GRNZ) said it "firmly believes... there are no grounds" for the sport to be banned and "maintains that the industry has a social licence to operate".
"The sport has made significant progress in recent years, especially in the animal welfare space. GRNZ is committed to ongoing improvement and will continue to put significant time and resources into ensuring that animal welfare is at the heart of everything the industry does," it said in a statement.
"Greyhound racing is leading the way in many areas of animal welfare across the wider racing industry and we look forward to the Minister for Racing confirming his support for the positive progress the industry has made. We believe there are no grounds for closure, and that much of the contrary emotive debate is based on out-of-date information - or blatant misinformation.
"With the support of our existing four adoption partners and the recent introduction of our America Rehoming Programme, GRNZ is in line to achieve more than 650 adoptions of greyhounds into loving homes this season (August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024).
"We look forward to a decision on the industry's future, which will give industry participants the confidence required to continue making a positive contribution to New Zealand's economic wellbeing."
Peters' office, meanwhile, said there was "no news at this stage".
