WELFARE AND RE-HOMING REPORT

GREYHOUND WELFARE AND RE-HOMING REPORT

BY DR GAVIN GOBLE BVSC, GENERAL MANAGER, GREYHOUND WELFARE AND RE-HOMING

VACCINATIONS FOR GREYHOUNDS The Code of Practice requires all greyhounds to have a current C5 vaccination. Please speak to your veterinarian about when your greyhounds are next due for a vaccination and ensure your Kennel Cough vaccine is up to date. Just a reminder that the vaccination requirements for acceptance into GAP are more specific, so please check with GRV if you are planning to get a vaccination for this purpose. These requirements are also on the GAP page of this magazine. In addition to recording your greyhound’s vaccinations in its Greyhound Record, please also provide GRV with copies of your vaccination certificates for GRV to upload into FastTrack so there is a permanent record. This is particularly important if you are considering, or are already, breeding from your greyhound. These vaccination certificates are required to keep the Pink Card active.

Greyhound retirements

When we talk about retirement, we use the term to mean the greyhound is no longer part of the racing industry. So, retirement does not include breeding, whelping, spelling, recovering from injury, taking a rest, waiting to come on season, winding down in preparation for being a pet, or waiting to go to GAP or a rescue group/shelter. A retired greyhound is one that is no longer part of the industry; that is, either is a pet (with the registered racing owner or a third party) or is no longer alive. ‘Retired’ for breeding: For several years, greyhounds have been ‘retired for breeding’ on FastTrack. Because breeding can only occur by a registered breeder, with a female that is registered for breeding (with a valid ‘Pink Card’), and the new Kennel Return allows you to tell GRV that the greyhound is being used for breeding, this is no longer a valid retirement and so we will be looking at this functionality. Retired as a pet: If your greyhound is retired as a pet, including being taken in by a re-homing group for rehoming, the registered owner must inform GRV within 10 business days of retirement so we can update FastTrack. The registered owner must not rely on the new owner or the re-homing group to inform GRV. In these cases it is critical that the correct and complete new owner details are provided to GRV, ideally by both the existing and new owner completing and signing the re-homing form (Notice of Retirement as a Pet - Transfer to New Owner form) and returning it to GRV. Alternatively, notification can be done by the participant through their FastTrack login (retirements function) or provided to GRV directly. GRV as a licensed Microchip Registry cannot allow the dog to be transferred into the new owner’s name until the new owner confirms that they have the dog. Once the new owner’s details are verified, the retirement is confirmed, and the greyhound’s status will change to ‘Retired’ on FastTrack and move to the owner’s ‘My Retired Dogs’ list. All clubs should have copies of the re-homing forms for participants to pick up, and the forms are also available at https://greyhoundcare.grv.org. au/rehoming/rehoming-pack/. Please note that the Code of Practice states that “Greyhounds must not be surrendered to a pound”.

Inactive greyhounds

Can you please continue to keep your greyhounds’ location and activity (for example spelling, breeding, rearing, education etc) up to date by using the new Kennel Return functionality. GRV is currently conducting another inactive greyhound follow-up, so please respond to phone calls or letters to advise the status and location of your greyhounds that GRV identifies as ‘inactive’ (i.e. no activity on FastTrack for 6 months or more). Any questions please contact Welfare staff for support on 03 8329 1108.

Hot weather

With summer approaching very quickly, it is time to think about your greyhounds during the hot weather. Greyhounds have an optimal internal body temperature of 38.0 - 39.5°C. According to scientific literature, the air temperature of a greyhound’s environment should ideally be 16 - 24°C to maintain their internal temperature without having to use excess energy. Air temperatures outside this zone require greyhounds to use more energy to maintain their internal body temperature. It is therefore vital to maintain the internal temperature of greyhound kennel buildings and transport vehicles within the appropriate temperature zone, and this is particularly important on race days when excess energy expenditure can impact on race performance. The updated Hot Weather and Transport policies are now in force to protect the welfare of the greyhounds over the summer, although the Transport Policy also has more general (all year round) requirements. For transport in hot weather this means that if the forecasted maximum temperature is 32°C or above at any point in the journey at any time that day, the hot weather requirements apply (i.e. mandatory air-conditioning) regardless of the time of the day of the journey. The updated policy stipulates that the internal trailer temperature must be kept at or below 30°C (but ideally at 16 - 24°C), so the air-conditioning should be started at least 30 minutes prior to loading greyhounds into the trailer and must be kept running during travelling. VicRoads has again confirmed that it is legal to run a generator on the trailer during travelling as long as it is correctly and safely/securely installed and well-maintained. Clubs have been provided

with new posters for the kennel area to support participants with the transport and management of their greyhounds during summer. On warm and hot days, ensure your greyhounds: ✓ have ready access to lots of cool drinking water in non-spillable containers; ✓ have access to shade at all times when outside; ✓ have good air flow through kennel buildings and/or well insulated buildings; ✓ have covered or shaded concrete walkways to prevent burning of pads when walking greyhounds around properties/race tracks; ✓ have access to cooling vests for after exercise and racing or only exercised in the coolest parts of the day; ** ✓ have access to airconditioned transport; and ✓ are monitored regularly.

Be aware that when the temperature is 24°C a closed vehicle in the sun can reach up to 35°C in 10 minutes and 50°C in 30 minutes.

For more information, please visit https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/hot-weather/. ** Cooling vests should only be used for a maximum of 60 minutes after first being put on; using them for longer can cause the vest to dry out and risk heat stress. They are available at all tracks on hot weather affected meetings.

Fire season is coming – get prepared

With the advent of the beautiful spring weather over the past ☐ Walk around your home and remove piles of fine fuels month, it is time to turn your thoughts to the coming summer. such as leaves, twigs and bark from trees; embers Weather forecasting is predicting a wet late spring into early landing in these fine fuels will create spot fires summer, so it is important to keep on top of vegetation growth around all buildings, tanks and other property assets. Now is the time to get your fire plans in order and ☐ Check your gutters to make sure leaves haven’t built up – check your home, kennels and other shedding avoid leaving things until the last minute. Start getting your ☐ Make sure you remove any fuels from around property ready: windows and doors; these are the most vulnerable ☐ Prepare or review your fire plan, including evacuation parts of the home and kennel area options; if you choose to take your greyhounds with ☐ Make sure trees on your property are healthy with no you, contact your local Municipal Council to find out dead limbs and no vegetation underneath them which of their evacuation centres will allow animals and add the address and details to your plan ☐ Ensure your insurance is sufficient and current ☐ Remove doormats from around the house and kennel areas ☐ Prepare a greyhound evacuation kit, including, leads, muzzles, bedding, first aid kit, necessary medications, food and water bowls, 3 days of dry food and bottles ☐ Move combustible outdoor furniture and other items of water; keep the kit in a central location so it can be from decks, up against, or under the home or your quickly loaded into your car kennel area ☐ If you have transport crates, ensure they are clean, in ☐ Move pot plants a few metres from the home or good working order and easy to access kennel area ☐ Practise your emergency evacuation plan at least ☐ Double check that gas bottles are anchored securely once before the hot, dry weather arrives with the relief valves pointing away from any flammable materials Visit https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/hot-weather/ for more information and download our emergency planning ☐ Ensure grass in surrounding paddocks, yards, checklist to help you https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/ alongside slipping tracks etc is no taller than 50mm wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Animal_Welfare_Emergency_ ☐ On bigger properties, a clearing of about 10 metres of Planning_Checklist.pdf well-mown grass (no taller than 50mm) around your home and kennel block is advisable