Greyhound Wastage

[samoyedman]

Pretty harrowing.

Video and transcript here:

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3886470.htm

Bled dry - the fate of greyhound racing's 'wastage'

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 07/11/2013

Reporter: Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Lesley Robinson

Overbreeding in the greyhound industry sees thousands of dogs put down each year but is it reasonable to drain them of blood before they die? Vets say it saves other sick or injured dogs but some vet nurses are appalled.

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: 7.30 recently exposed widespread doping in the greyhound racing industry, and since then we've had a huge response.

We've received thousands of emails, calls and Facebook posts, some from insiders who've raised more concerns about the industry, others who claim we didn't show the positive aspects of their sport.

We also had a strong response from an unexpected quarter: veterinary nurses. They're the ones who have to help kill the healthy dogs the industry discards every year.

Tonight the vet nurses reveal another of the industry's secrets: before greyhounds are killed, many of them have one dying duty. They're drained of their blood to help sick and injured dogs at animal hospitals.

Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop has this report, produced by Lesley Robinson.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP, REPORTER: It's a disturbing reality of the greyhound industry and one that's rarely discussed.

SELENA COTTRELL-DORMER, VETERINARY NURSE: You get eight dogs dropped off, oftentimes they will be just, yeah, just absolutely bled to death and euthanased, put in a body bag and put in the freezer and taken away for incineration. That's absolutely routine. No-one would bat an eyelid at that being the reality.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: Tonight, vet nurses reveal what happens to the dogs the greyhound industry doesn't want.

VICTORIA LUXTON-BAIN, VETERINARY NURSE: They would be brought in by a trainer. Normally we would get about three or four dogs and then they would arrive and then they'd be bled within about 48 hours of arriving. So they'd be put under anaesthetic and then bled and then euthanased while under anaesthetic.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: This multibillion-dollar sport relies on massive overbreeding. Each year, thousands of dogs never make it to the track because they fail to chase or simply aren't fast enough. They're what the industry calls wastage.

Vet nurse Victoria Luxton-Bain worked at a vet clinic near Melbourne's Sandown track. She saw both ends ever the greyhound life cycle, helping with artificial inseminations and euthanasing perfectly healthy dogs.

VICTORIA LUXTON-BAIN: I still remember the first time I had to do it and I couldn't stop crying. I think my worst day was we had seven brought in by one person and we just haf to do seven, one after the other. So, I mean, when you're euthanasing these dogs, they're not old dogs, they're completely healthy. You know, most of them are still standing there wagging their tails and licking your face while you're actually euthanasing them.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: She quit in protest and moved to an animal emergency centre, but her new job was even more confronting. Almost weekly, she was required to help drain greyhounds of their blood before they were put down.

VICTORIA LUXTON-BAIN: The blood was used for any dogs that needed a blood transfusion. And it would be separated into red blood cells bags and also plasma.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: The fact is that vets need blood to help injured and sick dogs that are brought in for treatment and unwanted greyhounds provide a ready supply.

SELENA COTTRELL-DORMER: A large percentage of greyhounds have a blood type that's referred to as universal. So most dogs are able to receive that without having a transfusion reaction. Also, they're extremely placid. They have really large veins. They have a high red blood cell count. And there's a lot of them who are no longer required for racing.

NAVEEN PRAKASH, VETERINARY TECHNICIAN: It does happen quite often. We don't - we don't talk about it as often as we should, to be honest. It is - it is heartbreaking to see.

SELENA COTTRELL-DORMER: A non-recovery donation would have an intravenous catheter placed. The animal would be anaesthetised and have a tube placed down its throat, so it would be unconscious, essentially. Then the femoral artery would be located. A large needle would be inserted into that. If they're struggling to get that blood out, they will give the animal adrenaline, which just gives that animal a last gasp if it's starting to essentially die.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: For this Queensland vet nurse, draining a greyhound of up to two litres of blood was a task too hard to bear.

SELENA COTTRELL-DORMER: I think it's the equivalent to essentially organ theft or rounding up the most vulnerable members of a community and exploiting them just because you can. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. So most nurses are appalled by it and technicians are appalled by it. A lot of vets are appalled by it. But it is considered a solution to the requirement for blood products and I don't think there would be a vet nurse out there who isn't aware of it and I don't think there would be a vet nurse or vet technician out there who's worked in a larger referral hospital or a larger veterinary clinic who hasn't had something to do with it, it's that standard.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: 7.30 has heard from a number of nurses too afraid for their jobs to speak out publicly about the practice of bleeding dogs. One from New South Wales wrote of her horror.

(female voiceover): "... on countless occasion I found myself out the back, literally sobbing over the dogs I was unable to save. Often they drain the dog until the blood pressure was that low, it would barely flow. Then they'd just inject them with lethabarb and chuck them in a body bag like garbage."

BRUCE MACKAY, DIRECTOR, VETERINARY SPECIALIST SERVICES: There's a huge greyhound industry with thousands of greyhounds. And so, where we're at is we - you know, in ICU like this we have lots of critical patients, lots of patients that need blood transfusions.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: VSS is a busy animal hospital in Brisbane where greyhounds are bled and then euthanased.

BRUCE MACKAY: These dogs are brought into the hospital by trainers. We have ethics approval from the Queensland Government. On average, we'll do somewhere between 50 and 100 a year, so it's one or two a week.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: This greyhound is one of the lucky few for which a home has been found. But many more will be drained of their blood before they're put down.

BRUCE MACKAY: The charge for a bag of blood is $150. If we buy the same thing from the blood bank in Melbourne, by the time it gets here, it's $400. We would prefer not to do this. You know, we - it's not what we as vets like doing. We're about saving animals. But sadly, there are lots of greyhounds and other pet dogs that are not wanted. And so, it's something we would prefer not to do. We look at this hard and long and I guess we feel that it's ethical because these are dogs that would be euthanased and they can help other patients.

SEAN RUBINSZTEIN-DUNLOP: This animal hospital in Sydney has set up a humane alternative, with the support of Greyhound Racing New South Wales. Adopted greyhounds make small donations like the human blood donor system.

Selena Cottrell-Dormer and Naveen Prakash have started a similar program in Brisbane.

They hope it's one small step towards ending the exploitation of these dogs.

SELENA COTTRELL-DORMER: What we want to see is an elimination of greyhounds being killed for their blood.

LEIGH SALES: And you can join a discussion of some of the issues raised in that story on our Facebook page now at facebook.com/ABC7.30

[mixeduppup]

Yeah I saw that. They need to be targeting the racing industry itself. Because in reality it's probably the best thing to do, as there is a surplus and not enough homes. I hate greyhound racing for the 'wastage' it creates.

Edited November 7, 2013 by mixeduppup

[kelpiecuddles]

What we want to see is an elimination of greyhounds being killed for their blood.

I find this statement a bit odd, greyhounds aren't being killed for their blood, they are being killed because they are the by product of an industry that does not have a need for them and is unable to or uninterested in retraining and rehoming them. If they must be euthanized I'd rather their blood go to good use but I'd rather they weren't needing to be euthanized in the first place!

[Rebanne]

Lots of dogs stand their and lick your face or hand and wag their tail while they are PTS. Go to any pound in the country and you'll see plenty of dogs killed, young healthy ones, it's not just greyhounds.

And if they are going to die anyway, then take their blood to help others live. They are anaesthetised, they feel nothing.

Not an easy job for anyone involved with wholesale killing of unwanted healthy dogs, regardless of breed.

[mixeduppup]

Greyhounds are put down all the time, if they can save another life by being put to sleep then why is that a bad thing? If the racing industry doesn't stop then this is probably the best outcome for dogs that don't/can't get rehomed.

[*kirty*]

I don't have a problem with greys being drained of blood before being PTS, because they are going to be PTS regardless. But I do have a problem with someone being able to drop off 5-6 dogs at a vet clinic to be PTS without a second thought. The wastage needs to be reduced.

[gsdog2]

This has been going on for years. I worked in a vet surgery in the 80's and it was standard practice when a greyhound was brought in to be pts. They were were considered the lucky ones as they were given an injection - I'm sure you can guess the alternative. These dogs were going to be pts anyway but in the process could possibly save another dog - I honestly never saw anything wrong with what the vets were doing. I would also occasionally bring my own dog in to donate blood when we had a dog that required a transfusion

[Brandiandwe]

I guess my view here is mixed but what has frustrated me about the coverage recently is that there was very little given to the possibilities and programmes running to rehome greys, both within and outside the industry. Overbreeding is a huge concern, but so is the fact that very few people seem to consider greyhounds as pets because of a lot of misinformation and lack of understanding of what the dogs require as pets.