User talk:Rhiannon Stephens/The Effect of Animal Cruelty Allegations in Sport

Rhiannon, I called by to see how your essay is developin Thisg. Let me know if I can be of any help. Postillion 23:21, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Wow! I am impressed by your choice of topic and content, Rhiannon. I called by to see how you are going and will call back soon for a more detailed response. Postillion 19:04, 29 September 2011 (UTC) (Keith)

looking great, draft review time
This is looking great! Nice to see your advanced use of the ref tag. I think youre ready for a peer review. See http://bps.ucniss.net for instructions (second post) Leighblackall 23:28, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Rhiannon, I wondered if you had seen this article Postillion 23:30, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

PS Thanks for investing so much energy into this article Postillion 23:30, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Email interview transcript
I emailed the Australian Profession Rodeo Association and Greyhound Racing Australia in regards to animal cruelty allegations affecting their organisations

My questioin
From: rhiannon stephens [mailto:rhiannonstephens1@hotmail.com] Sent: Thursday, 22 September 2011 3:12 PM To: admin Subject: Animal Cruelty Allegations

Hi

My name is Rhiannon Stephens and i am a student at the university of canberra studying sports management.

I am currently studying business, politics and sport.

As a part of this subject i am writing an essay about the effects that animal cruelty allegations have on sports that involve animals.

I was wondering if you would be able to give me some insight on how these allegations affect have on your organisation and how you deal with these issues?

Thankyou

Rhiannon

APRA
3/10/2011

Hi Rhiannon Unfortunately the sport of Rodeo does attract criticism from animal rights groups and individuals however as most of their comments are unfounded or are based on propaganda we don’t believe it has a major bearing particularly on people attending or participating in Rodeos.

Having said that the APRA is mindful of their presents and realised that the sport had to become more transparent and proactive if it was to survive under today’s expectations.

In the past 15 years rodeo policies and procedures have changed in regard to animal welfare. All our livestock contractors and rodeo judges must complete an animal welfare course and are under constant scrutiny. Statistics on livestock used and injured are recorded and in some states it is a requirement to forward them on to animal welfare regulatory authorities to cross check with their own records.

In 1992 the APRA introduced its own Code of Practice for the care and treatment of Livestock used in Rodeo. This voluntary code has since been adopted in part as standards or regulations in most states throughout Australia. APRA representatives sat on the National Consultative Committee for Animal Welfare (NCCAW) which was a National Government advisory group and now sits on Australian Animal Welfare Strategies (AAWS) (the current advisory group)

I hope this helps however of you require further information please contact me by telephone or email (phone number can be found below) Regards Steve Hilton General Manager

Australian Professional Rodeo Association Po Box 264 Warwick, Qld 4370 Ph: 07 4661 8183 Fax: 07 4661 4990 www.prorodeo.asn.au

GRA
4/10/2011

Hi Rhiannon,

Thanks for your enquiry – an interesting topic and one that we’ve been keeping our eyes on also.

Honestly, it hasn’t affected us at all. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have the potential to in the future when we look at what is happening to Greyhound Racing overseas. However, the key difference is that we put Animal Welfare at the heart of what we do. We employ an Animal Welfare Office whose job it is to ensure the welfare of the greyhounds before and during their racing career. We have partnered with both the University of South Australia and TAFE (Technical & Further Education) to ensure the dogs get the best in care and the students the best in vetinary and nursing education.

We also have the Greyhound Adoption Program SA (GAP SA) that places greyhounds in into foster homes so they can learn quickly how to be pets before finding them permanent new homes after their racing careers have finished. The condition for the dogs at our tracks are far better than that for their owners! The kennel blocks are all air-conditioned and each animal is vet checked before, and after the race, if required.

As greyhounds are doing what they love, running, and don’t have jockeys on their backs or hurdles to contend with, here in South Australia at least we’ve been pretty much free from animal cruelty allegations.

However, if allegations were directed towards the industry we’d investigate the claims thoroughly and would then decide next steps based on the outcome.

Does this help?

Cheers Rhiannon. Feel free to give me a call if you’ve any questions or would like further clarification.

Regards, Sam.

.................................................

SAM JEFFRIES

MARKETING MANAGER

GREYHOUND RACING SA LTD