Cobalt class action against Greyhounds Australasia gathering steam
It seems that greyhound racing authorities are not listening to the pleas from trainers all around the country who are desperate to have the current “ridiculous” cobalt law looked at.
But with momentum building towards a planned class action against Greyhounds Australasia, this issue will simply not go away.
Andy and Jodie Lord’s top-performing kennel in New South Wales has been the latest operation to speak out on a law which continues to put livelihoods at risk.
The Lords’ handler Paul Mills has offered his encouragement to the class action which veteran Central Coast owner-breeder Ray Pitstock is organising against GA.
At present, there is widespread anger and frustration across the Australian greyhound racing community regarding the current rule which governs the detection of cobalt in dogs.
If trainers register over 100 nanograms per millilitre of cobalt in tests at Australian dog racing venues, they could face lengthy suspensions.
But many conditioners believe they are powerless against cobalt entering the digestive systems of their dogs.
That is because it is a natural chemical which can be found in the water, food and dirt which their animals are exposed to.
Mills is the latest greyhound conditioner to say this rule needs to be seriously looked at – and fast.
“It has to be severely looked into,” he told Australian Racing Greyhound.
“It is a big thing because it can so easily go into so many things, even the rainwater.
“It is a big issue.”
A prominent recent case involved Rockhampton trainer Andrew Suli, who said in July he had been losing sleep over the 12-month suspension – currently on a stay of proceedings – given to him by the Queensland Racing and Integrity Commission.
Cobalt was found in two of his dogs – Lines and Rockstar Lincoln – in October last year.
Suli maintains that both dogs presented with cobalt in their systems because it was in the packaged food he gave them, named Winning Edge.
There is no suggestion of bad practices from Winning Edge, nor from any regulatory body in the way it conducts its cobalt testing on participants.
This publication has also mentioned the details behind long-term cobalt suspensions handed out to Tom Tzouvelis and Ken Burnett, both not commenting on the record.
Along with the Lord stable, fellow prominent NSW trainer Jason Magri passionately offered his views regarding the ongoing cobalt crisis to this publication last week.
“You can get two years for contamination for cobalt – people can lose their houses over it because they can’t work for two years,” he said.
“I haven’t worked outside of dogs for 20 years. I wouldn’t know what to do outside of dogs.
“They (the authorities) have got to have a good look at it – with the way things are it’s got to change.”
Magri – who stressed that the greyhound industry’s lawmakers have made some positive strides regarding animal welfare in recent years – called upon GA to consider the desperate pleas of its very own marketplace.
“It is a Greyhounds Australasia rule, but there are also (separate) state rules,” he said.
“They (GA) can make it a state rule if they wanted to, as well.
“It’s like contamination (minuscule amounts of recreational drugs found on dogs at public venues without trainers knowing). They can change it, but they don’t.
“It should change. In this day and age, it’s people’s livelihoods.”
And Mills is on the same page.
“Even in their (greyhounds’) kennels you see cobalt is a big ingredient in paint,” he said.
“And you go into those kennels now and there’s paint everywhere.
“If that falls in your water and contaminates your water, it can happen so easily.
“People who make a living out of this and can be crucified for such a minor thing – it’s just ridiculous.”
Prominent Sydney-based veterinarian Dr Derek Major also told Australian Racing Greyhound back in August that it was time for a re-think on how cobalt is regulated in the greyhound racing industry.
“Cobalt is in the environment – it’s everywhere. The idea that it’d make a dog run faster, I don’t know where they got that idea,” he said.
ARG contacted Greyhounds Australasia with questions on Tuesday afternoon regarding the concerns of those trainers on the current cobalt laws, who have spoken to this publication on and off the record.
No response has yet been received by this publication.