Agland Shenzi crossing the line at the Wagga track shortly before she collapsed and died. Photo: Supplied.
Greyhound welfare advocates are calling for the release of autopsy findings after the latest death of a young dog at the Wagga Wagga Showground track this week.
According to the steward’s report from Monday 19 August, Agland Shenzi “collapsed post-race and was taken to the on-track vet room where it passed away. [The] Greyhound was transferred to a vet clinic for further investigations”.
Agland Shenzi was only 22 months old and the “Palawa King, 320m” was just her fourth race. It follows a similar post-race death of two-year-old Loot To Boot on the Temora track in June.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) said this latest death highlighted an urgent need to improve greyhound welfare.
They are calling for Greyhound Racing NSW to change the rules around racing frequency and travel allowances.
CPG NSW director Kylie Field pointed to the bombshell report released last month by the former chief vet of Greyhound Racing NSW, Dr Alex Brittan.
“The Brittan report made shocking allegations of greyhound abuse and we can see evidence of that in the Riverina,” she said.
“The former greyhound racing chief vet described the current rate of racing frequency as barbaric, archaic, and cruel. He urged that NSW change the rule to bring it into line with other jurisdictions.”
In his report, Dr Brittan said it was “physiologically impossible” for a dog to recover within the current NSW limit of two days between races and he recommended doubling it to a 4-day minimum.
Agland Shenzi had raced three days before her death, while Loot To Boot had competed eight times through May.
Another recommendation was the scrapping of a travel allowance of $60 per dog per race, which he said was incentivising racing more dogs more often and claimed that it had increased the injury rate by more than 16 times.
In the wake of Dr Brittan’s allegations Greyhound Racing NSW chief executive Robert Macaulay resigned and an independent inquiry was launched.
Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr is a member of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Greyhound Racing group and has previously balanced his support for the greyhound racing industry with welfare concerns.
Ms Field said Dr McGirr needed to push for Dr Brittan’s recommendations to be implemented as soon as possible.
“The NSW Parliamentary Friends of Greyhound Racing are friends of racing but enemies of dogs,” she said.
“They cannot ignore the growing evidence that the reform of greyhound racing has failed and abuses are ongoing.
“In the interests of transparency, Dr McGirr must also request that the autopsies of the two deceased dogs be released.”
Following several deaths in the Riverina in 2023, Mr Macaulay said his organisation was “working closely” with the Wagga Greyhound Racing Club and the Show Society “to make a major investment in track safety upgrades at the Wagga Wagga track”.
He indicated that GRNSW would invest more than $14 million for upgrades including “a Centre of Excellence for all of southern NSW at Wagga Wagga” that would include a straight track, something that was shown to reduce injury rates.
In response to enquiries from Region, GRNSW said it “is saddened by the news of the passing of Agland Shenzi” adding that it was “premature to speculate” on the cause of death.
They said it “would be inappropriate to comment further on the frequency of racing” while an enquiry was underway and did not respond to questions on the promised upgrades to the Wagga track.
Eleven greyhounds have died racing in NSW so far this year and a total of 84 across Australia.
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