Greyhound rehoming facility in Murray Bridge is back on the agenda

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A rehoming facility proposed for Murray Bridge’s east side may play a key role in the rehabilitation of South Australia’s greyhound racing industry.

Almost three years have passed since a scathing review which recommended sweeping changes to the industry.

It had been beset by allegations of animal cruelty, including by former trainers based in Murray Bridge.

One recommendation of the Ashton review was for a stand-alone Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) facility: somewhere ex-racing dogs could live while they waited to be adopted by new owners.

Peak body Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) has since explored the idea of building various facilities at various locations.

One will be at Angle Park, the home of greyhound racing, as GAP SA revealed in a social media post last week.

But plans have also been lodged for another “care facility”, which may be built next door to the Murray Bridge Greyhound Racing Club on Kennett Road.

The facility would feature 24 kennels, with space for another 24 to be built at a later date.

Several jobs would be created at the centre, which would operate seven days per week.

However, it would not be open to the public.

Instead, it would be an initial home for dogs entering GAP SA’s rehoming program, with all introductions and adoptions taking place in Adelaide.

There would be no public veterinary clinic at the site, either – a deviation from the plan a former GRSA representative presentated to the Murray Bridge council in 2024.

CEO Brenton Scott said GRSA had strengthened its relationships with existing vets in the regions where there was greyhound racing, and was “very comfortable” that the industry’s needs could be met.

A clinic at Angle Park catering specifically to greyhounds, with capacity to expand in future, would also remain central to the industry’s plans.

Racing industry awaits the outcome of state government review

Of course, there is a non-zero chance that all this planning could be for naught.

Back in July 2024, the state government gave the industry a deadline of two years to clean up its act by enacting all of the Ashton review’s 87 recommendations.

A government inspector is due to hand down his final report, and recommend a future model for the industry, within weeks.

If he is not satisfied with the progress being made, it is possible the government could order the industry to cease operating in South Australia.

More than 11,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to greyhound racing which was submitted to state parliament last week.

Mr Scott suggested Greyhound Racing SA had done everything it could to comply with the government’s requirements, and had implemented the “vast majority” of the Ashton review’s recommendations.

“We intend to have all the recommendations we’re responsible for completed by the July 7 deadline,” he said.

“With whole-of-life care for greyhounds going forward … we understand what that needs to be, and have planned and organised for that.

“We feel we’ve embraced the change that was required.”

Rehoming facility had been anticipated a decade ago

The proposed rehoming facility had been part of the industry’s plan for Murray Bridge since long before the current reckoning.

It formed part of the original plan for the east side dog track when it was announced in 2016.

It’s not the only welfare initiative the industry operates in the Murraylands, either – GAP SA also runs a training program with inmates at Mobilong Prison.

• Have your say: Visit plan.sa.gov.au before 11.59pm on July 7.