REHOMING

Greyhounds make fantastic pets. They are friendly, intelligent, and gentle and do not require a lot of exercise or a big backyard to be happy. In Victoria, all greyhounds retired from the sport must either be adopted into the community or kept as pets by their owners or other registered participants. The Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), participants and third-party rehoming organisations help find new homes for about 3,000 retired greyhounds each year.

Greyhound owners have the responsibility to prepare their dogs for adoption, ensuring they are healthy and ready for their new homes. This preparation includes desexing, a vet and dental check, and socialisation with people and other animals.  When rehomed through GAP, greyhounds are assessed and carefully matched with their new owners to ensure the new home is appropriate for their individual needs.

All racing greyhounds in Victoria are registered, microchipped, and tracked from birth by Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV), ensuring their well-being throughout their lives in the sport, and through to finding their forever home.

It is against the Rules of Racing and the Victorian Government’s Code of Practice for the Keeping of Racing Greyhounds for racing greyhounds to be surrendered to a pound. The Rules also stipulate that euthanasia is only permitted on serious medical or behavioural grounds as determined by a veterinarian, which is a higher standard than that for pets in the general community.