Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has a moral obligation to ensure integrity assurances provided by the organisation are upheld was the message delivered by Glen Canty, GM – integrity, racing and welfare in a feature interview with RSN’s Shane Anderson on Tuesday.

Canty, speaking about his role and how it was formed through the GRV Strategic Plan ‘On Track for a Great Future’ was discussing the need for integrity to be upheld in all areas to ensure all people involved in the sport trusted the product.

“We’ve got a moral obligation to our thousands and thousands of members – our breeders, trainers and owners who deserve the integrity of this sport to be upheld,” he said.

“We’ve also got a responsibility to our hundreds of thousands of punters who deserve to know the product they are betting on is in its purest form.”

Speaking on a range of issues, Canty detailed the reasoning behind the combining of the three areas of integrity, racing and welfare and how they are all interconnected.

“For every integrity matter and every racing matter there is a greyhound welfare outcome and one of the key tenets of our strategic plan is that whatever we do consider the welfare of the greyhound.

“This (Strategic Plan) really sets the scene and our board is very rigorous in monitoring achievements according the plan.”

Anderson also pressed Canty on the discussion around the new Animal Welfare – Penalty Guidelines and their impact on the sport.

“The ongoing issue we have in greyhound welfare.

“In essence it (the Penalty Guidelines) reflects community attitudes, but it also reflects the views of our participants.

“Our members love their greyhounds, that’s a fact. They’re disgusted when those rogue elements step outside the bounds of welfare and cause harm to greyhounds.”

Canty mentioned that the guidelines impose some suggested punishments for welfare offences and highlighted that the RSPCA has far more power than GRV when it comes to welfare offences.

The national approach to greyhound welfare was also identified as a major step forward for greyhound racing nationally, with the support of Greyhounds Australasia and all other state bodies being vital to the success of the joint strategy.

“The great thing about what we’re doing now in regard to welfare is the national approach. The information sharing and collegiate approach to welfare will assist us in going forward.”

In the discussion, Canty and Anderson also talked about the changes to grading and their importance, as well as defining some of the key challenges that greyhound racing faces into the future.

Listen to the full interview below:
[soundcloud soundcloudurl=”https://soundcloud.com/rsn-racing/glen-canty-grv-integrity-racing-welfare-gm” ][/soundcloud]
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Pictured: RSN’s Shane Anderson (left) and Glen Canty.
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