The second greyhound death at Horsham within a month has reignited the debate around the safety of the sport.
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On Tuesday, January 5, Murtoa-trained Dipped in Honey was euthanised on track after a collision during a race.
The 22-month-old collided with other dogs and fell at the first turn, suffering a metacarpal fracture.
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It if the first greyhound death in Horsham of the year, and the third within Victoria in the past five days.
In early December, Nhill-trained two-year-old Irina Bale was euthanised at Horsham, after a collision during a race.
The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds believed more needed to be done and that fractured bones should not be a death sentence for a greyhound.
"The death of Dipped in Honey highlights the major problems with greyhound racing: curved tracks, races with too many dogs, and greyhounds with broken legs being euthanised at the track. The racing industry knows how to stop the suffering, but many more greyhounds will die in 2021," coalition president Dennis Anderson said.
"In the first five days of 2021, there have already been three deaths and 48 injuries in 17 race meetings. Four of those injuries were fractured bones."
"The death of Dipped in Honey also raises the question of how much euthanasia of racing greyhounds is really necessary, and whether the connections should give more dogs a second chance to live."
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Speaking after the death of Irina Bale last year, Greyhound Racing Victoria said recent renovations had improved safety standards at Horsham.
"The loss of a greyhound is distressing for all concerned," they said.
"GRV has a long-term strategy to make our tracks safer and we are collaborating with Professor David Eager from UTS to develop a scientific underpinning for safe racing.
"GRV has used this approach to rebuild the Horsham track and in the current rebuilding of the Traralgon track.
"Any changes we make at other tracks will be based on sound research and scientific evidence."
Dipped in Honey suffered its injury during an eight-dog race.
Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds believes the number of starters needs to be reduced to six.
"The only way to end greyhound suffering is to ban greyhound racing," Mr Anderson said.
"But until that happens, the industry must reduce on-track deaths and injuries by implementing safer tracks with an emphasis on straight tracks and six-dog races."
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