news, act-politics

ACT Racing Minister Gordon Ramsay has accused Canberra Liberal Mark Parton of changing his arguments to reverse the incoming ban on greyhound racing because of the trackside euthanisation of two dogs this year. Mr Parton had branded the territory government as hypocrites for receiving $1 million a year in licensing fees from Tabcorp, which facilitates betting on greyhound racing in the ACT. Unlike greyhound racing itself, gambling on the sport will not be illegal in Canberra after this month. Mr Ramsay said Mr Parton was "clutching at his final straws" by questioning the sale of ACTTAB four years ago. He said the trackside euthanisation of two greyhounds this year - Quadzilla for an offside tarsal fracture on January 28, and Antique Kerry on February 11 for a series of leg fractures - made it "tough for him to argue that the greyhound racing industry in Canberra has an impeccable animal welfare record". Mr Ramsay also accused Mr Parton of treating Community Values, the dog used by a racing syndicate he set up, as a "disposable object". "If you look at the footage of the Mr Parton’s syndicate dog’s last race meet in Canberra, a dog in the race immediately prior falls horribly," Mr Ramsay said. "This dog is trained by the same person as the syndicate dog. How long before poor Nugget [the dog's real name] falls, fractures a bone in his leg, and will no longer be of value to the syndicate that owns him, and will be put down?" However Mr Parton said members of the syndicate "had a right to be offended" by Mr Ramsay's comment, and about a dozen had offered to adopt Nugget once his racing career was over. "I don't have any ownership of the people's dog Nugget but I classify him as a canine friend of mine. He's a gorgeous dog and like all the actual members of the syndicate I love him to bits," Mr Parton said. Mr Parton added Nugget was "jumping out of his skin" to race every time he came to the track, and if the minister could speak "fluent dog" and told Nugget he could no longer race, the dog would be "gobsmacked". "I don't know what Nugget would say back to Mr Ramsay but I don't think I could repeat it in here," Mr Parton said. The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club's last meet will be on Sunday April 29, before the ban takes effect on May 1. The club will move its operations to Goulburn while it awaits judgement in various appeals it has going against the ban.

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