A multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal between Greyhound Racing NSW and international gambling company Entain has sparked concern among animal welfare advocates.
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The deal means NSW greyhound racetracks will be rebranded as Ladbrokes venues and millions of dollars in additional funding will be provided to animal welfare charities over a 10-year period, Greyhound Racing NSW and Entain Australia said on Wednesday.
"This is a huge win for greyhound racing in NSW," Greyhound Racing NSW CEO Rob Macaulay said.
"It's an outstanding result for our people and our dogs and came after a very competitive and thorough tender process."
The branding partnership is worth $60 million, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A GRNSW spokesman told AAP millions of dollars would be given to greyhound welfare charities every year.
But he declined to give an exact figure, saying the details were commercial in confidence.
Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst told AAP few dogs would have their lives improved by the deal.
"This isn't about welfare as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't address some of the major issues that the industry is actually facing," Ms Hurst said.
"Once animals are being pushed into the gambling industry, we're going to see major animal welfare issues."
Despite the establishment of the independent Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission in 2018 to enforce animal welfare standards, large numbers of dogs were still being killed and injured on racing tracks, she said.
A total of 293 greyhounds were euthanised between the final quarter of 2022 and the first two quarters of 2023, according to a recent report from the commission.
This includes 51 dogs on race tracks, 231 for medical reasons and 11 because they were unable to be rehomed, or had behavioural issues.
Some 731 greyhounds have been retired and kept by their owners or rehomed this year and 1352 were retired in the 2021/22 financial year, continuing a stable trend since reporting began in 2018.
NSW had some of the highest standards of greyhound welfare in the world, the welfare commission said on Wednesday.
Rehoming greyhounds can also be a long process, with many racing animals unprepared for domestic life, having never encountered things like leashes or stairs.
"They have to be completely retrained in how to actually (be a) dog," Ms Hurst said.
Lisa Ryan from Animal Liberation said NSW continued to be one of the deadliest places for greyhounds.
"On average three greyhounds die every week on Australian tracks and 28 are injured every day," she said.
"Greyhound racing is not strong or popular in NSW - track attendance numbers are low and the only thing growing is the profits of those who exploit and commodify greyhounds."
Australian Associated Press
