Commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand is finally over. The industry officially closed on the 31st of July 2026, following legislation that was passed by Parliament earlier in April. The bill was passed with support from all political parties. The actual ban came into effect on the 1st of August 2026, one day after the final greyhound meeting took place.
Racing Minister Winston Peters said the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment passed its third reading 112 votes to 11 – a staggeringly overwhelming partisan vote.
The end of an era finally ended at Hatrick raceway in Whanganui, with the final New Zealand greyhound race taking place at 6.55pm on Friday. Peters said independent reviews in 2013, 2017 and 2021 had produced clear evidence of serious welfare concerns for the dogs, and that, while improvements had been made within the industry, this trend didn’t continue – and the injury and death rates of dogs remained at an “unacceptably high” level.
The final week itself was almost proof of exactly why the ban was needed: a greyhound broke its leg during a race at Addington, and later had to be put-down – an incident Peters himself used as clear justification for the ban.
Now that the ban has officially been brought into effect, clearly, Kiwis can no longer visit – or bet on – greyhound races in New Zealand. However, while domestic racing has ended, TAB New Zealand has announced that it will continue to accept bets on greyhound races that are held overseas.
Greyhound Racing New Zealand has also confirmed that as many as 150 greyhounds will be sent to Australia, where they will continue to race.
In terms of funding the wind-down; it’s being paid for using betting revenue. TAB New Zealand has set up a programme worth NZ$60 million so that taxpayer money didn’t need to be used during the transition. The Greyhound Transition Agency (GTA) will help with rehoming and providing financial support to owners and trainers while dogs remain in their care.
The GTA is expected to operate until July 2029, although, depending on the state of things then, it’s possible that this deadline could be extended. The GTA itself is fully funded, and works with organisations that have rehomed racing greyhounds for years, and around 1,400 dogs need placing due to the ban.
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Alex Smith