Greyhound Euthanasia Guidance

technical advice is our interpretation of how professional standards apply in a particular situation it is designed to help veterinarians deal with common issues in practice, using their professional judgement to apply the advice to their own situation it represents our best efforts at the time of publication but standards and expectations change over time and particular care should be used when reading old advice the government has announced that greyhound racing will end in new zealand racing will be wound down over a 20 month period to allow for rehoming of dogs and a transition for the industry legislation has been passed to prevent the destruction of specified greyhounds unless it is done by a veterinarian in accordance with greyhound racing nz’s greyhound euthanasia policy https //www grnz co nz/files/rules%20and%20policies/grnz%20greyhound%20euthanasia%20policy%20version%202%201%20december%202024 pdf section 53a https //www legislation govt nz/bill/government/2024/0109/latest/lms1015611 html#lms1015610 of the racing industry act 2020 https //legislation govt nz/act/public/2020/0028/latest/lms291924 html?search=sw 096be8ed81df792c dog 25 se\&p=1 makes it unlawful for a person who isn’t a veterinarian (or veterinary student under direct supervision) to destroy or participate in the destruction of a greyhound it does not apply to euthanasia conducted by a veterinarian for a reason specified in clauses 2 and 3 of the greyhound euthanasia policy specified greyhounds include any greyhound that is or was registered with greyhound racing nz and includes the offspring of a breeding female (regardless of when they were born) veterinarians are excluded from liability under the new section, meaning that it is not an offence for a veterinarian to euthanise a greyhound (even if it is healthy) however, if a veterinarian euthanises a greyhound at the request of a client and doesn’t follow the greyhound euthanasia policy, the client would be “procuring” the destruction of a specified greyhound and would be committing an offence under the new section as such, veterinarians should follow the policy the flowchart below serves as a guide to doing so this does not apply where a veterinarian needs to lawfully euthanise a greyhound on animal welfare grounds, following section 138 https //www legislation govt nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/dlm51273 html of the animal welfare act 1999 download a pdf version of this guidance https //archbee doc uploads s3 amazonaws com/mlj4eeshzmqx2zicib9bn qsvbnpm4ybiclyphvoqz 20241210 233757 pdf