Hunt gets 18 month ban after dog tests positive for ice

TOP trainer Jenny Hunt has been slapped with an 18 month ban, after a greyhound she trained tested positive to the drug ā€˜ice' at a meeting in January.

The drug, more commonly known for its debilitating affect on people, was found in a post-race swab on Jubilea Bale, following a heat of the Cup on January 17.

GRV Chairman, Ray Gunston said: ā€œWe have a zero tolerance approach to the use of in greyhound racing, it is plain and simple,ā€ he said.

ā€œTrust in the of our racing product is of paramount importance to GRV and we will continue to work to identify and prosecute those within the industry that don't play by the .

ā€œWe acknowledge the 18-month disqualification period handed down by the independent .

ā€œThe independent RADB is currently guided by precedent and in understanding this we can see why the disqualification period was 18 months.ā€

A week ago Hunt transferred the greyhound she trained to Nicole Davis and Thomas Mitchell, a move sure to draw the ire of commentators after this became common practice for under-siege trainers during the scandal.

Hunt then pleaded not guilty to the charges at the RADB hearing, with a number of witnesses vouching for her character.

But Gunston said the serious nature of the charges and the fact it was a drug-related offence had forced the disciplinary board's hand, resulting in an 18 month ban.

ā€œAs a board we are committed to working toward tougher penalties for all drug offences especially for a drug as insidious as ice,ā€ he said.

Mr Gunston also commented on the time it took from the recording of the positive swab to the conclusion of the matter.

ā€œIt needs to be understood that act with all due process and, in some matters, this requires time to properly progress through each aspect of the case,ā€ he said.

ā€œThere has been feedback regarding the length of time it has taken for this matter to get to this point and we accept that feedback but we won't compromise the rigor with which we undertake investigations for the sake of expediency. We want to ensure we get the outcomes we're after.ā€

Hunt has a right of appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

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another growler
another growler
8 years ago

How did the dog get the drug? Smoke a bong, inject itself, go down the laneway and find a dealer?.
Obviously the trainer made a decision to use the banned substance and should be disqualified for life!!!
Another gutless effort from authorities.

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

Only 18 month ban …… she should be banned for life.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

What a surprise another of wheelers trainers Ā outed for dope makes you wonder why any owner would give dogs to families with drug histories or is he supplying them with the stuff

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Obviously wheeler has no conscience, integrity and is morally bankrupt the sooner he carries through his threat to pull the pin the sooner the game will improve in victoria.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

NSW horse trainer gets 4 yrs for using ICE hunt gets 18 mths are the joking with us or conning us

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

another growler Good question growler maybe it just came out of the sky and landed by accident in jubilea bales kennel

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

How great for aust greyhound racing our man wheeler cant stand the heat in the kitchen and is threatening to sell everything to china do aust a great favour wheeler DONT COME BACK and take your drug mates the hunts and bate with you none of you will be a loss to australia .Get the hunts and bates with you and take a long walk on a short pier.

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

burra man completely agree with you. Ā Paul Wheeler has done no favours for our industry. Ā Personally I think his threats of selling his greyhounds to China is disgusting. Ā Mind you he clearly doesn’t give a damn about animal welfare considering that his trainers drug his dogs and his overbreeding leaves me speechless and appalled.

Mwk
Mwk
8 years ago

Sorry but that punishment is bloody embarrassing she should of got min 5 years. Who are these people with her dogs?

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

This is how it works with wheeler G Bate gets rubbed out dogs then transferred to Bates step daughter J.Hunt .J hunt turns up positive swab to ICE in january Ā wheeler keeps sending dogs to her in the meantime N.Davis gets a trainers licence and just to keep it in family N.Davis is girlfriend of P>Hunt Ā who just happens to be Bates stepson .Conveniently a week or so before penalty is announced wheelers dogs transferred to N.Davis .Why would any owner still keep sending dogs to someone with an ICE suspension hanging over their head is beyond me Ā i think… Read more »

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

burra man …… there are still people on other forums supporting Ms Hunt. Ā “she didn’t personally administer the drug”, “it was somebody she employed” and even more ludicrous “it was somebody from the antis who broke in and nobbled the dog”. Ā I am beginning to hate this industry and worry for the future our beautiful greyhound breed.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Pink PennyĀ burra man Yes i see that but doesnt everyone that gets caught Ā say its someone elses fault Ā Was the same with her step father g bate it wasnt him but his staff that imported the 7000 illegal tablets which were found at his kennells .There were about 4or 5 others took the blame for him including his wife.Before the swab came up positive did she give the prizemoney to her staff member she presented the dog to race so she should be rubbed out.There are some weird idiots on the other forum that are sticking up for her but… Read more »

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Pink PennyĀ burra man Dont hate the game because of some of the crooks wont be long before new board will sweep out the rubbish and it is getting to the stage where people are refusing to take wheelers dogs i can name 3 trainers that in last 2 weeks that wheeler has asked to train his dogs and they have told him to stick his dogs and his greed and attitude

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Taskforce team leader Detective Sergeant Tracey Pelling yesterday said it was apparent live baiting was entrenched in the industry. ā€œIā€™ve had a trainer say to me, ā€˜put 10 greyhound trainers in a room and say put your hand up if you havenā€™t live baitedā€™,ā€ she said. ā€œHe said one will put their hand up and heā€™s a liar. Thatā€™s from the industry itself.ā€ Some of the stateā€™s 800 trainers ā€œbelieve they cannot train without using a live baitā€, Sgt Pelling said. Live baiting was so standard for some trainers that they discussed the State of Origin and Broncos while a… Read more »

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

burra man You know that GRNSW Vet John Newell set up racing in China and Vietnam ? And he’s involved in the Inquiry. Flabbergasting.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

DezzeyĀ burra man I know nothing about grnsw but sounds very strange to me .What i would like to know is if wheeler has to produce a vet certificate for each of his dogs that are put down .My bet is he doesnt but us in vic have to produce a vet certificate for all dogs that are put down .But one thing i will say about grnsw is they have wheeler beat as far as racing goes and he has to come to vic or sth aust to get the treatment he wants.There was one race at angle park not… Read more »

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Dezzey I know that grv are doing everything they can about the live baiting but they have taken their eye off the ball a bit as far as drugs go and hopefully when hunt turned up the positive to ICE they notified the police as that drug has no place in society or sport Ā Druggies have a choice if they want to use it but the poor dog or horse cant say yes or no to it .But when greed takes over what can you do

Recluse 60
Recluse 60
8 years ago

burra manĀ Pink PennyĀ  Good to hear that the trainers have told Mr (me myself and I) Wheeler to stick it. I contacted him for aĀ friend of mine a couple of years agoĀ with him about using one of his stud dogs (why he wanted to useĀ a Wheeler stud dog I don’t know). Mr Wheeler said he hadn’t heard of it and it wasn’t registered,Ā I then said it was registered with Greyhounds Australasia and he was the stud master, he then spoke to somebody in the background came back and said Greyhounds Australasia had got it wrong and the dog probably went… Read more »

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Recluse 60Ā burra manĀ Pink Penny I’ve been reading the 2014 NSW Parliamentary Inquiry. By all accounts he doesn’t give a toss about welfare. The pubic made a huge stink over the treatment of exported livestock treated badly. Greyhounds are not livestock (they are to Wheeler) read on. The export of greyhounds 7.90 A number of inquiry participants were concerned about the practice of exporting greyhounds, particularly to countries that do not have strong animal protection laws. 7.91 Greyhounds are sold and exported to overseas greyhound racing industries, particularly to China, Vietnam and South Korea.439 In 2010, 797 greyhounds were exported from… Read more »

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

Dezzey I find it absolutely unbelievable that a public servant i.e. Detective Sergeant Tracey Pelling considers it appropriate to be providing a tabloid newspaper, that is anti greyhounds and anti greyhound racing with details of an investigation. Ā Her comments are generic, inflammatory and clearly obtained from a person or persons accused of the disgusting practice of live baiting. Ā Her comments demonstrate her bias and ignorance – team her up with the RSPCA and allow them to have the rubbish newspaper (the Courier Mail) as their platform together with Racing Queensland and god help the Greyhound breed.

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Recluse 60Ā burra manĀ Pink Penny And the icing on the cake. I found this from ten years ago. It’s an extract from an article in the Herald. Note that the man quoted is now the GR NSW Chief Vet. I wonder what his connection to Wheeler is whether his current job is comprimised. “Veterinarian John Newell, from Belmont, NSW, helped to establish greyhound racing in Vietnam and Macau and is infuriated by calls to ban exports. Newell says protesters have the wrong picture. Retired racing dogs exported to those countries get a longer life expectancy and often better care than in… Read more »

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

The horse trainer in nsw that got 4 years must be very dirty on the game Ā when he sees hunt only got 18mths.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

I think the new grv board are very determined to clean the game up in vic but they are behind the 8ball because the previous boards have created a monster by letting bate and hunt and wheeler have things all their own way for so long .The chief steward now is honest and working hard to get rid of the scum but before he took over we had the chief steward going out fishing with bate regularly.Was great a few months back when the stewards appealled against bates suspension saying it wasnt enough and got him another year added on… Read more »

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

The game is full of hypocrites in vic they all whinge and carry on about wheeler getting treated so well but those same IDIOTS go and support him by using his stud dogs as far as i am concerned some people deserve everything they get .Under no circumstance would i ever use any of his stud dogs because most were trained by bate and you never know if they were running on their merits or were running on the thousands of tablets bate imported.My bet is they werent running on their merits.Wheeler doesnt care he just sits on his arse… Read more »

another growler
another growler
8 years ago

Newell is dribbling rubbish. I have been to Vietnam ( Vung Tau) greyhound track many times. The dogs are in pityful condition and race accordingly with fighters common place.
A couple of years ago dozens of dogs died due to poisoning from the crap kibble they were being fed.
“Welfare” ?? They wouldn’t know the meaning of the word.

Recluse 60
Recluse 60
8 years ago

another growlerĀ 

Trouble is because Mr Newell hasĀ a high profileĀ with connections like Mr Wheeler, people actually believe them. I assume once they leave the Country in question in changes.
The people whoĀ have beenĀ involved in exporting to these countries neverĀ show usĀ photos or videos as to the conditions the dogs are kept/raced in or if they are still alive. They are only interested in the mighty$$$. You only have to look at the list of excellent stud dogs that have been exported, its so sad.

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Recluse 60Ā another growler Did this not raise alarm bells ?Ā 

GRNSW issued a return to racing policy this week, detailing the terms and conditions by which greyhounds which have been suspended due to live baiting can recommence racing. GRNSW head veterinarian JohnĀ Newell, along with animal behaviourist Dr Robert Holmes, assisted with the development of the policy.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Maybe the reason wheeler is thinking about selling everything to china is he knows that grv and grsa Ā are looking for a way to make him accountable when his dogs have positive swabs .the sooner the better i say

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

Yes I saw this article when it was published in March – fortunately I remembered the headlines so I didn’t have to go through the agony of seeing and reading it again.

Recluse 60
Recluse 60
8 years ago

DezzeyĀ Recluse 60Ā another growler That is disgusting and has bought me to tears. The people who have exported dogs to these places know who they are as they sit with blood money in their bank accounts, We all know of the list of stud dogs that have been sent to these places and the lame excuses that were give for selling them and also one person who openly said on Greyhound Data a couple of years ago saying “he had another shipment this month going to China and there is room for some more dogs if anyone is interested” you know… Read more »

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Recluse 60Ā DezzeyĀ another growler

and look who set it up. The man responsible of GRNSW Greyhound welfare.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/hounded-to-death-20041025-gdjzba.html

Recluse 60
Recluse 60
8 years ago

For goodness sake, lock her up and throw away the key and get the police involved. She has already had previous fines for turning up at the track with the wrong dog, Oh durghhhh.

I’ve had enough of the authorities doing nothing, she will get another slap and that’s it I expect and Mr Wheeler will probably pay her legal costs for her or her father in law will.

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

Recluse 60 …. and there are still the sycophants on other forums claiming she was set up – purlease :(

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

IN CASE NONE OF YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD YET OUR TOP TRAINER J>HUNT HAS TURNED UP ANOTHER 2 POSITIVE SWABS TO ICE Ā OR IS IT G> BATE BOTH BALE DOGS MAKES YOU WONDER IF WHEELER IS BEHIND IT ALL

Recluse 60
Recluse 60
8 years ago

Pink PennyĀ Recluse 60

Yes so I noticed, as you say total sycophants and some of them probably circle round Mr Wheeler’s table for crumbs! Also they are the ones that agree with the export of greyhounds to China, sums it up really.

Dezzey
Dezzey
8 years ago

Recluse 60Ā Pink Penny

When you have Dr Choi U Fai, head of the Macau governmentā€™s animal-control department, saying “the plight of greyhounds is ā€œterribleā€ and every dog imported from Australia was dead within three years; you know it is not good. See no evil, is not really good enough.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Robyn Hunt I am proud to say that i have been swabbed over 40 times in vic,nsw,qld,tassie and sth aust and as i said i am proud of the fact i have never and will never have a positive swab.The day i have to use any drugs to win a race is the day i will quit the game.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Robyn Hunt Check your facts it wasnt me who said anything about who would pay the legal costs of jenny hunt it was another writer not me but if the cap fits wear it

another growler
another growler
8 years ago

Good job Burra. There is obviously some integrity still in the game. There is none in the Wheeler, Bate, Hunt camp. This super intellect Robyn should get off the ice and leave it for her dogs.

Mwk
Mwk
8 years ago

This R Hunt should be pulled it to GRV and punished for her outcry in this manner as if it was a jockey or trainer a suspension and fine would be slapped.

another growler
another growler
8 years ago

How did the dog get the drug? Smoke a bong, inject itself, go down the laneway and find a dealer?.

Obviously the trainer made a decision to use the banned substance and should be disqualified for life!!!

Another gutless effort from authorities.

Pink Penny
Pink Penny
8 years ago

Only 18 month ban …… she should be banned for life.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

What a surprise another of wheelers trainers Ā outed for dope makes you wonder why any owner would give dogs to families with drug histories or is he supplying them with the stuff

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

Obviously wheeler has no conscience, integrity and is morally bankrupt the sooner he carries through his threat to pull the pin the sooner the game will improve in victoria.

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

NSW horse trainer gets 4 yrs for using ICE hunt gets 18 mths are the joking with us or conning us

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

another growler Good question growler maybe it just came out of the sky and landed by accident in jubilea bales kennelĀ 

burra man
burra man
8 years ago

How great for aust greyhound racing our man wheeler cant stand the heat in the kitchen and is threatening to sell everything to china do aust a great favour wheeler DONT COME BACK and take your drug mates the hunts and bate with you none of you will be a loss to australia .Get the hunts and bates with you and take a long walk on a short pier.

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