Racing manager for Wagga and District Greyhound Club, John Patton, said the industry is not responsible for this. 

“I’ve never come across aggression in the dogs in our racing club, not at all,” he said.

The response followed a comment made by Wagga lady Tracy O’Brien who spoke out about the trauma she believes her rescue greyhound suffered from her time as a racing dog before going into the care of an Adelaide pound. 

“She’d been beaten, had some broken ribs and was hit on the head that hard once that she had a seizure, and that’s from her days as a racing dog,” Miss O’Brien said. 

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Mr Patton said the racing industry has strict laws to abide by.

“There are Greyhound welfare integrity laws we have to follow, people need to remember this is a regulated industry and Wagga has never been picked up on any cruelty or illegal activity,” he said. 

The racing manager said he believes the dogs should be assessed individually before implementing across the board muzzling.

“In my opinion, if the dog has been well trained and passed a behavioural test, it shouldn’t need to wear a muzzle, they’re not an aggressive breed and they don’t need it,” he said.

Mr Patton said the NSW greyhound racing industry do their part in helping provide the dogs with happy, healthy lifestyles.

“The NSW Greyhound Racing industry actively works to rehome retired greyhounds, and they organise the Greenhound temperament assessments to make sure they get the best chance of rehoming,” he said.

“Those dogs that are too aggressive to be rehomed for whatever reason are kept by their trainers and owners who know how to properly control them.”