Illegal Greyhound Racing and Betting in China
Legality: Commercial greyhound racing is not legal in mainland China. The last legal track in the region, the Canidrome in Macau, closed in 2018.
Underground Operations: Despite the ban, numerous illegal greyhound racing tracks exist. They are horrific greyhounds being bred continious, greyhounds raced to death and sold to the dog meat trade
Export Loopholes: Dogs have been exported to China by exploiting loopholes in regulations and via the use of agents who facilitate the sales, often without the required industry "passports" or authorization. The lack of a federal ban on commercial greyhound exports in some source countries has been a major point of contention for animal welfare groups.
ZERO Animal Welfare/Protection : China has minimal or no animal welfare laws, which results in horrific conditions for the dogs. When the dogs are too slow to race or are no longer useful for breeding, they are often sold for human consumption in the dog meat trade.
Breeding and the Meat Trade: There is evidence of greyhounds being used as "puppy-making machines" in breeding kennels before ending up in slaughterhouses. Some reports indicate tracks may be built adjacent to slaughterhouses for easy disposal of unwanted dogs.
Greyhound racing is illegal on mainland China, but it continues to exist through underground tracks and illegal betting rings. These operations often involve greyhounds bred in or exported from countries with legal racing industries, such as Australia, Ireland, and the UK, despite industry bans on such exports. .
ABC Invetigation into Greyhounds being sold to China
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Australian greyhounds are being purchased for up to $220,000 each and exported to China where they are fuelling an underground racing industry by exploiting loopholes in Australia's regulations.
ABC Investigations has uncovered a sophisticated supply chain where the dogs are sold by local agents to buyers in China who breed them for lucrative fees.
An online breeding site, Greyhound YY, lists records from more than 700 Australian greyhounds obtained by breeders in China, dating back to 2006.
These greyhounds, some from good bloodlines, are in high demand in China for illegal racing with claims that some wealthy Chinese owners are betting millions a night on their offspring, despite gambling being prohibited in the country.
State based greyhound authorities don't allow racing dogs to be exported to China by industry participants because of poor welfare standards.
While exporting greyhounds to China is not illegal, it can breach industry rules set down by racing regulators, unless participants obtain approval before exporting a dog.
In 2016, a New South Wales Special Commission of inquiry called on the federal government to have greater oversight and control of exports to China and other destinations.
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ABC Investigations has tracked several dogs which were exported to the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa but later sent to China and advertised on the Greyhound YY breeding site.
Greyhound Australasia's CEO Simon Stout told ABC Investigations: "Most greyhound exports occur within the passport system, though we acknowledge there are some bad actors who try to get around the system."
One good example is the case of Australian greyhound Katoby, which in September 2020, was exported to South Africa, according to microchip records obtained by greyhound welfare group Free the Hounds.
