Greyhound doping: 51 NSW trainers offended after inquiry began

More than 50 NSW trainers were caught doping greyhounds during a period of intense public scrutiny of the industry, including using ketamine, amphetamines, pesticides and cobalt.

An analysis of publicly available stewards’ reports by the NSW Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi shows 51 trainers were fined or suspended for doping dogs between May 2015 and September last year.

The cases, which relate only to trainers who were charged, all detail offences that occurred after former high court judge Michael McHugh began his inquiry into the greyhound industry.

That inquiry led former premier Mike Baird to ban the industry in July last year, before spectacularly reversing his decision in October.

The penalties for the 51 doping offences ranged from a $500 fine for the use of morphine, codeine and norcodeine, to a 16-month racing suspension for the detection of anabolic steroids in the same greyhound three times in late 2015.

Cobalt, a potentially dangerous substance that can help dogs perform at peak level for longer, was detected in greyhounds in a dozen cases.

Faruqi said the stewards’ reports showed that the industry, even during a period of intense scrutiny, could not reform itself.

“This evidence from the industry itself of the use of prohibited substances is incredibly tragic,” Faruqi said. “If you look at the possible side effects on the dogs, it is nothing short of barbaric cruelty, and no dog should have to endure this in the name of entertainment.”

Faruqi said the overwhelming evidence of animal cruelty should prompt the new premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to commit to reimposing Baird’s ban, something Berejiklian has already ruled out.

“Faced with overwhelming evidence of animal cruelty, if Premier Berejiklian has any integrity she must keep the ban in place,” Faruqi said. “That is the only option.”

The special commission of inquiry into greyhound racing found the use of amphetamines, steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs was common, but said there was not enough evidence to suggest it was endemic.

It recommended that Greyhound Racing NSW introduce a random swabbing regime and withhold prize money until the result of a swab was known.

A spokesman for Greyhound Racing NSW said the random swabbing policy was now in place, complementing other detection systems.

“Like all racing jurisdictions and sporting bodies, Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) is concerned by the use of any prohibited substances within its respective industry and has no tolerance for any participant who intentionally breaks the rules through deliberately using prohibited substances,” he said.

“To prevent the use of prohibited substances to influence a greyhound’s performance, GRNSW is committed to having a dynamic, multi-faceted and intelligence-led approach to drug detection.”

The spokesman said in the six months to December the industry had taken 3,886 swabs, with 62 returning positive results for prohibited substances.

Figures from the greyhound inquiry show that is a significant increase from the same period in 2015, when 2,842 swabs were taken and 36 tested positive.

“Over the past 18 months, the more targeted approach undertaken by GRNSW in relation to the swabbing of greyhounds has been supplemented by a more robust and efficient inquiry process,” the spokesman said.

He said more education was now being undertaken to reduce the number of inadvertent doping offences, including on withdrawal times for medical substances being used to treat injuries.