Greyhound Desexing Program (Interim)

New local welfare rules introduced on 1 March 2020 require that all greyhounds be desexed by owners prior to rehoming.

Tasracing has introduced the Greyhound Desexing Program (‘Program’) to assist owners meet the costs of desexing and to enable retired greyhounds to transition to pet life as early as possible.

From 2 November 2020, Tasracing will cover the costs of all desexing operations for eligible greyhounds who raced in, and are domiciled in Tasmania through the interim Greyhound Desexing Program (‘Interim Program’), which is in place to enable this to occur whilst the full Program is being developed. Greyhounds that were bred in Tasmania but did not make it to the track will also be eligible for the Interim Greyhound Desexing Program.

What does the Interim Program involve?

Owners of greyhounds eligible under the Interim Program will receive an Authority for Greyhound Desexing document from Tasracing, which must be provided to all participating veterinarians before the desexing procedure for their greyhound.

Once desexing procedures have been completed, participating veterinarians will send the Authority for Greyhound Desexing to Tasracing along with a copy of the desexing certificate and an invoice. Once these documents have been received by Tasracing, payment of the invoice for the desexing procedure will be made.

The Authority for Greyhound Desexing is only valid for the person and greyhound listed on the document and must be used within 28 days from the date of issue.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Wind-down notification must be lodged with ORI; AND
  • Greyhound must be domiciled in Tasmania at the time of retirement; AND
  • Have been bred in Tasmania; OR
  • Have had at least one race start in Tasmania; OR
  • Have been domiciled in Tasmania with a licensed person for a minimum of six consecutive months at the time of lodging wind-down notification

Procedure for owners

For Tasracing to cover the costs of desexing operations for eligible greyhounds under the Interim Program, Owners will need to ensure that the following steps are followed:

  1. Submit a 28-Day Wind-Down Notification to the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI).
  2. Complete the Application for Desexing Program form on this Website. Click here.
    1. Upon receipt of the Authority for Greyhound Desexing, choose a vet from the list of participating clinics and make an appointment for the desexing procedure .
    2. When making the appointment, let the veterinary clinic know you have a greyhound and that you will be providing an Authority for Greyhound Desexing to the clinic prior to the desexing procedure so that Tasracing can pay for it.
  3. Ensure that the Authority for Greyhound Desexing is provided to the clinic upon arrival at the desexing appointment. Click here to view the list of participating veterinary clinics.
  4. Provide a copy of the desexing certificate to ORI and the new owner or rehoming organisation after the desexing procedure.

Participating veterinary clinics

Please book the desexing with one of the participating veterinary clinics

Participating veterinary clinics (PDF)