Qantas halts greyhound freight services

Entrance to the Canidrome

In reaction to the ABC’s investigation program last week, Australian airline Qantas has said in a post on social media that it will no longer provide freight services for greyhounds in Asia.
Animals Australia, an animal rights group interviewed during the investigation, commended Qantas’s recent policy change, saying that it represents “a win for the gentle dogs exported to certain death each year.”
“We share your concerns about the disturbing story that appeared on [7.30] earlier in the week,” reported ABC, the public Australian broadcaster, citing Qantas’ post on Twitter.
“In the past we have transported a small number of racing greyhounds to Asia,” the airline added. “However in light of the story we have made the decision to no longer provide racing greyhound freight services to Asia.”
The announcement comes only days after the undercover investigation revealed how the dogs are sourced and imported to Asia, in what the broadcaster termed a “death trade.”
The dogs, which originate in Australia, are shipped to countries like Macau and China once they are deemed uncompetitive on Australia’s racing tracks.
Concern over the welfare of greyhounds intensified last week after the ABC’s 7.30 program revealed that many greyhounds imported to Macau were being euthanized once deemed unable to compete in the SAR.
In April, animal rights activists in Macau exposed the killing of more than 30 underperforming dogs each month at the Canidrome, where as many as 800 are housed. But according the investigation last week, even those greyhounds that are capable of racing are imperiled by a track that is “too hard” and by living conditions that are “prison-like.”
Once in Asia, the greyhounds are not subject to the same protections and rights that they enjoy in Australia. The situation has prompted activists in both Macau and Australia, as elsewhere, to protest the treatment of greyhounds and campaign for an end to the trade.
Australia’s Agriculture Minister, Barnaby Joyce, said in response to the program that the government would continue to work with the industry to find “more effective, evidence-based options” to ensure the welfare of exported dogs.
According to Animals Australia, Qantas is one of only two commercial airlines with direct routes from Australia to Hong Kong – the main entry point for imported greyhounds. The animal rights organization says that the other airline, Cathay Pacific, has confirmed that they are not involved in the freighting of Australian greyhounds.