By BRIDGET SCOTT
THE Chairman of Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) has stood down within the same week that the authority has back flipped and allowed some trainers involved in the live baiting scandal to race their dogs.
The board has also suspended an additional five trainers from the Tooradin Trial Track including Kenneth Hodges, Brett Mackie, James Reynolds, Jon Roberts and Eric Sykes.
On Monday 23 February, Peter Caillard said he advised the Minister for Racing, Martin Pakula, of his resignation.
In a statement on the GRV website, the former chairman said he was an outsider of the industry when appointed in 2012, and that the organisation is very different now to what it was.
He said despite a number of changes, it was “still not enough to prevent the type of sickening practices seen at the privately owned Tooradin Trial Track”.
“Although I had read that the archaic practice of live baiting had occurred years ago, it was distressing to discover that it was still occurring in recent times,” he said.
“Had this practice been brought to my attention earlier then it could have been stopped earlier.
“It was not and I did not.”
In the wake of the scandal, the board of GRV immediately suspended greyhounds owned or trained by registered persons involved in the live baiting allegations.
However on Saturday, the board issued another statement which said that as a result of legal advice, GRV has resolved that if the owners of the suspended greyhounds provide a statutory declaration stating that, having made reasonable inquiries, they are not aware of their greyhound having been trained using live bait, the greyhound’s suspension will be lifted.
Furthermore, it also said that if any evidence is received that indicates the greyhound has been involved in the live baiting method, the ban will be reinstated.
A spokesperson from RSPCA Victoria said they are “extremely concerned and shocked” following the announcement from GRV that it has lifted some suspension rules.
They said that the RSPCA expects “the independent reviews of the regulatory arrangements for the greyhound industry to ramp up” and have also demanded that the RSPCA “have a seat at the table” to ensure the independence and integrity of the review.
The 15 suspended trainers identified in the video footage remain suspended as the investigation continues.
