Tasmania to phase out greyhound racing by 2029
On Sunday, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced that the government will phase out funding for greyhound racing in Tasmania by 2029. Tasmania is now the second state to put an end to greyhound racing following the ACT in 2018.
In his announcement, the Premier cited concerns about the “future of the industry and animal welfare” as-well as racing “not aligning with community expectations” as some of the reasoning supporting the decision.
RSPCA Tasmania CEO Andrea Dawkins welcomed the move, expressing “absolute delight” over the news. While introducing the phase out period, Ms. Dawkins said that the RSPCA does not want to see “people selling animals into other jurisdictions and racing them elsewhere, defying the rationale behind the phase out”.