Greyhound Racing Victoria brought an application under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act asking the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court online to allow it to rehome the greyhounds it had seized from 76-year-old Barbara Chenney’s property.
On Tuesday, Magistrate John Doherty granted the application.
Mr Doherty said Greyhounds Racing Victoria (GRV) investigations manager Simon McLean and vet Dr Nicholas Evans told how they had observed the greyhounds at the property over an extended period, with “the dogs suffering a lack of proper animal husbandry”.
Fresh water bowls had been knocked over, other bowls contained algae, kennels had faeces in them, there was dirty bedding and a lack of bedding for the dogs, Mr Doherty said.
Injured dogs also required vet care and one dead animal was found in a house on the property in Yabba South Rd.
Visits to the property by GRV officials started on May 21, with the last on August 27.
Twenty-six dogs were seized from the property by GRV, with three of those returned to their owners.
Of those seized, 16 were taken on July 16 and a further seven on August 27.
The other three were taken on separate occasions.
Only two pet greyhounds were allowed to remain.
During the hearing, the court was told the dogs were costing GRV $26 each per day to care for and house, with a monthly bill of just over $20,000.
Chenney’s barrister Diarmaid McGann told the court at the hearing that Ms Chenney intended to defend allegations of cruelty brought by the Victorian Racing Tribunal which would be before the court in December.
Mr McGann said Chenney was “very attached” to her dogs and argued GRV was “premature” in bringing its application to rehome them.
However, Mr Doherty said the two court appearances were “quite separate matters”.
“It’s already costing the taxpayer . . . thousands of dollars,” Mr Doherty said.
“The dogs are ready to be rehomed.
“The welfare of the dogs is paramount.
“The application is not premature.”
While acknowledging that Chenney was fond of her dogs, Mr Doherty said the right decision was made to seize them in the first place.
“She obviously has a strong fondness for these dogs, but the set-up was too big for her to manage,” Mr Doherty said.
“The officers involved would have been derelict if they had not acted as they did.”
Mr Doherty also dealt with a defence request asking that Chenney, or someone nominated by her, be able to take part in the rehoming of the dogs.
Mr Doherty denied the request, saying Chenney was not welcoming of GRV officials to her property during their welfare visits, and the time needed to have more people involved in the rehoming of the dogs would delay the process.
“It’s impractical to allow her to play a part,” he said.
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