Six greyhounds were euthanised in Tasmania in the days after suffering a serious race injury last year - in addition to the dogs euthanised at the tracks themselves - prompting calls for greater transparency in the release of the information.
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Several greyhound welfare groups, along with the Tasmanian Greens, applied for the data under Right to Information and were provided with the details of the incidents with six dying, eight returning to racing and six being retired in 2021.
The greyhound names could then be cross-referenced with stewards reports to identify the time between the injury and being euthanised. Among them was All Yap, who suffered ligament damage in a race at Hobart on January 7, and was euthanised four days later after a second vet opinion.
The steward reports only provide details of injuries and deaths at the track, but not subsequent deaths, prompting the RTI request for more information.
RSPCA Tasmania chief executive officer Jan Davis said all of the data and information should be publicly available and easily accessible, rather than wading through steward reports and waiting for the Tasracing annual report around October each year.
"This should be publicly available, on their website, as it happens," she said.
"There's just not enough detail available without having to file through steward reports, or wait until October for the annual report which can be over a year old by that time."
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Trainers have access to a $3000 injury rebate scheme for initial treatment in an attempt to reduce mortality among greyhounds, while the cost for euthanasia is far lower.
Tasmanian Greens health spokesperson Rosalie Woodruff said the industry should face full "public scrutiny", given it received public funding.
A spokesperson for Tasracing directed Australian Community Media to data in its annual reports when asked whether the subsequent deaths were being publicly reported as deaths, rather than only as injuries in stewards reports, as claimed by greyhound welfare advocates.
In the latest annual report, seven greyhounds were reported as being euthanised on-track for 2020-21, with 257 total injuries for the 12 months. A further 40 retired dogs were euthanised, but the spokesperson said these were not necessarily related to racing injuries.
He said the body was considering updating the way it reports the data.
"Tasracing is considering publishing the data on a quarterly basis," the spokesperson said.
During the last 12 months, Tasracing introduced track benchmarking and testing procedures to improve surfaces at the state's three tracks.