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One of the main stumbling blocks that exists for the Greyhound Adoption Program in NSW is the requirement that our beautiful dogs be muzzled in public places. The negative effect of this stipulation of the Companion Animals Act is twofold:
- It has caused the completely erroneous perception to become entrenched, in the minds of the general public, that Greyhounds are dangerous and aggressive.
- In itself, the legal requirement that they be muzzled in public, discourages a lot of people who would otherwise be keen to adopt one of these gentle and aristocratic dogs.
We strongly believe that this legislation is misguided - not to say draconian - in that it, quite unjustifiably, discriminates against Greyhounds. (The only other breed which is specified in the CAA is the Pit Bull Terrier). It should be noteworthy that the Greyhound does not rate a mention in any published statistics of dog bites, despite the fact that far more Greyhounds are whelped each year than any other breed.
Furthermore Australia is the only country, with the sole exception of Northern Ireland, which requires Greyhounds to be muzzled when they are off the track.
Happily, Victoria amended its legislation in 1999 to allow GAP Greyhounds to be exempt from wearing muzzles. Since that time, the number of retired Greyhounds adopted in Victoria has increased more than threefold. South Australia has followed suit and similarly amended its legislation in August of 2004, the ACT and Queensland in 2008.
GAP NSW has been actively campaigning to get the current legislation amended to allow Greyhounds, who have been through the GAP program, to be exempt from wearing muzzles.
We need your help!
The CAA is currently under review and you can help by writing to your State MP or the Minister for Local Government (Barbara Perry) or both! Please feel free to use our suggested draft letter.
 Sample letter (25.00 KB)
Current Members of the Legislative Assembly
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