Greyhound muzzling law - my letter received a reply!

[Swiftwind]

This is a step forward for retired racing Greyhounds in NSW, Australia...

Last December I sent a letter to my state MP requesting that the Companion Animals Act be reviewed in consideration of abolishing the law which requires retired racing Greyhounds to be muzzled in public.

I met a lovely rescue organisation last year which is devoted to rehoming retired racing Greyhounds. They had a template letter on their website (about the law requiring the muzzling), suggesting to send it to your state MP. So I did just that - I reworded the letter a tad and sent it off.

This is a slightly different version to the letter I sent off, but it was kind of close to this:

13 December 2006

Dear Ms Nori


I wish to bring to your attention my strong concerns about, and objections to, the current Companion Animals Act.

I refer specifically to the requirement that Greyhounds who have been adopted as pets, through the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), are required to wear muzzles in public places. This stipulation of the Act is totally unjustifiable in my view, and in the view of any person who has experience of the breed.

Furthermore, the image of the muzzled Greyhound brings about the totally erroneous perception, by the general public, that Greyhounds are dangerous and aggressive – when nothing could be further from the truth. This perception, coupled with the reluctance of many, otherwise willing, people to adopt a dog that is required to be muzzled, directly contributes to the destruction of many thousands of young and healthy Greyhounds.

Are you aware that Australia is the only country, with the sole exception of Northern Ireland, which requires Greyhounds to be muzzled away from the track? Are you aware that Victoria amended this legislation in 1999 for GAP dogs – and that since that time adoptions of retired racing Greyhounds have increased more than threefold? Are you aware that South Australia followed suit in August 2004?

I understand that the Companion Animals Act is reviewed regularly and therefore I request that you, as my State MP, take up this issue on my behalf.

I await your response with interest.

Yours sincerely



Erin -------------
Supporter of the Greyhound Adoption Program

To be honest, I was quite surprised to receive a reply to my letter.

Now... this is just a small step forward in terms of action, but at least it's something. Here is the reply I received (I have blacked-out my surname and address details):



I sent my letter to Ms Nori, however she is leaving government soon and so it seems she's passed on my concern to Minister Hickey. The reply is from Minister Hickey's secretary. This letter was sent to Ms Nori and she forwarded the letter to me (a tad confusing! ).

[theGOOCH]

Is there anywhere in the US where you have to muzzle dogs in public? I was on a British board once and it seemed common there

[TribalRats]

That is awesome Swift, good for you!

Gooch, not that I know of. There are those odd town laws though so i would bet there is some place her in the good ole US of A that an uneducated person was able to pass an ill conceived law that like.

[Rivsky]

That's great that you're actually doing something about trying to have the laws changed. I wonder what they'll say in their next letter....

I keep meaning to write a letter to my local MP about BSL - it probably won't make much difference but I figure it can't hurt either.

[Novel]

Originally Posted by theGOOCH

Is there anywhere in the US where you have to muzzle dogs in public? I was on a British board once and it seemed common there

I was talking with someone with Staffies this weekend at the show that was buying muzzles because there are some city ordinances that say they must "wear" a muzzle in public. but you know what cracked me up... she doesn't put the muzzle over the dog;s head, she just threads it into their buckle collar, because the laws simply state "wear", not exactly how they need to be worn. She's never been confronted about it, and I thought it was a clever way of "following" the law.

[KennelMom]

Good for you for actually doing something!! I think the muzzling laws for greyhound in Australia are ridiculous!!

[Swiftwind]

Thanks everyone! I'm really hoping something will be done about this.

Gooch, I'm not very familiar with laws in the US.

[Cassiepeia]

I think it's wonderful that you sent off a letter too, Swiftwind. GAP is a wonderful organisation. But I'm a little confused, I thought GAP dogs didn't have to wear their muzzles if they had a GAP coat? I was sure a GAP lady on another forum mentioned that once? Maybe I'm confusing it with something else? Wouldn't be the first time.

Cass.

[Swiftwind]

Thanks Cass! I got the information straight from their website.. so it's possible you could be confusing it with another organisation. But then again, you might be right!

[Cassiepeia]

Hmmm...don't know. LOL Well, either way all other Greys have to wear muzzles in public and I, too, believe that is wrong. So I hope things change.

Cass.

EDIT: I just checked....GAP dogs in some states don't have to wear muzzles, but sadly that's not a country wide thing.

[Swiftwind]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

EDIT: I just checked....GAP dogs in some states don't have to wear muzzles, but sadly that's not a country wide thing.

Yes, that's the case (my letter refers to GAP dogs in NSW). I'm really glad this law doesn't apply to all GAP dogs in Australia.

[Rivsky]

I was just going to say here in SA GAP greys don't have to wear muzzles - I've seen a couple of them at the beach and dog park - beautiful dogs they are!!

[Dogsareme]

Good for you, that is so great.