Newshub understands Racing Minister Winston Peters will make a call on the future of the greyhound racing industry within weeks.
Briefing papers to Peters, obtained by Newshub, say Cabinet "must" decide if the greyhound racing industry has the social licence to continue.
It comes as four animal welfare groups have written an open letter to commit to helping rehome greyhounds should the sport be shut down.
It's no secret that greyhound racing is on thin ice. There have been multiple reports over the past decade raising serious issues about injuries, deaths and transparency in the industry.
The previous Labour Government put the industry on notice, saying it risked being closed down completely.
Briefing documents provided to Minister Peters, obtained by Newshub under the Official Information Act, state Cabinet "must" decide if the sport has the social licence to continue, which will likely be a "value-based/political decision".
Greyhound Racing New Zealand CEO Edward Rennell is adamant the sport should continue in New Zealand, saying many changes have been made.
"From a social licence point of view, we have done everything we can to demonstrate that there are no grounds for closures."
But opponents, including Will Appelbe from the animal rights group SAFE, disagree.
"Greyhound Racing New Zealand is possibly the only organisation in the country that considers it has a social licence," he said.
The briefing papers provided to Peters show the industry is making progress.
However, the industry still fell short on various key performance indicators by not getting retired greyhounds into rehoming programmes quickly enough. It also doesn't know the location of all its dogs.
Rennell is confident they'll hit 100 percent of those targets by July. But he concedes the injury rate remains a problem which they're committed to improving.
"Our target this year is to have it down 15 percent. We're probably not going to meet this," he said.
Rennell said for every 1000 races, seven dogs are "seriously injured".
During a race in Addington in Christchurch on Thursday, racing reports show two dogs broke their legs. Both were euthanised.
Carolyn Press-McKenzie from the charity Helping You Help Animals (HUHA) said the days of using dogs for entertainment are done.
"It's not acceptable anymore. I think society has moved on from using animals in that way."
Four groups, including HUHA, the SPCA, Dog Watch and SAFE have written an open letter to Minister Peters committing to rehome dogs if the industry shuts.
Press-McKenzie said they're "stepping up" to provide a solution.
"Rehoming is what we do, we're good at it, we do it fast and well."
Press-McKenzie has just bought 157 acres in Wellington and the four organisations say they have the capacity to help.
Appelbe said they're willing to work with the greyhound industry.
"We'll work with their rehoming agencies as well. We will work with all of those stakeholders to help them manage that population of dogs."
New Zealand is among just seven countries where greyhound racing is still legal. Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland still allow greyhound racing.
The sport is permitted in some states in the United States. Mexico has just one track, and in Vietnam, while legal, the country has no operating racing tracks at all.
Newshub understands Minister Peters has sought additional advice from officials and a call on the industry's future is imminent - it'll be made in weeks, not months.
The briefings Newshub has show he's already been presented with three options.
These include letting the industry continue with no changes, bringing in new restrictions and regulations or closing the industry completely.
