The Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board (QACRIB) has today warned off a further 14 participants for life after show cause hearings were held at Deagon on Tuesday.
As part of Racing Queensland’s ongoing investigations into live-baiting within the greyhound industry, the 14 individuals were issued with show-cause notices on April 15 and invited to provide submissions.
QACRIB Chairman Kevin Dixon said upon considering the submissions, the decision had been taken to warn off the individuals on the basis their involvement in the conduct had made their presence on a racecourse in Queensland not desirable.
“We made it clear at the outset that we would ensure those who have engaged in illegal conduct will be removed from the industry, and those warned-off today will no longer be permitted to be part of the industry in any capacity,” Mr Dixon said.
“Queensland has been the most proactive jurisdiction in its response to the horrendous acts committed by some participants in the greyhound industry and has implemented a number of measures to address those acts.
“A levy remains in place on prizemoney and subsidies, rules in prohibiting organic matter on lures have been implemented and mandatory education competencies for licensees have been fast-tracked to be included in the licensing renewal process in July.
“All participants will also be required to sign a statutory declaration as part of the greyhound licensing process that outlines they have not been involved in live-baiting and will not in the future. Racing Queensland has received 214 statutory declarations to date.”
The greyhounds belonging to the individuals warned-off today have been disqualified from competition and will be required to undertake the return to racing policy of three supervised trials in order to return to racing in the future, provided they are not in the care of a warned-off individual.
Each of the 14 individuals have been notified this evening of the Board’s decision and their right to appeal. A total of 20 trainers have now been warned-off as a result of this investigation.
The 14 individuals warned-off today are:
Michael Campbell Donald Peter May
Patricia Comley Gregory Paull
Russell Druery John Pollock
Julie Edmondson Samantha Roberts
Raymond Gatti Peter Roy
Tracy Kunde John Thompson
Raymond Knudsen Craig Wright