New Zealand 2024 – Cabinet decision to close commercial greyhound racing industry
Government Policy
Enacted – Pending Effect
December 9, 2024
Summary
On 9 December 2024, the New Zealand Cabinet made an in-principle decision to close the commercial greyhound racing industry in New Zealand, with racing to cease by 31 July 2026 and closure effective from 1 August 2026. The decision was publicly announced by Minister for Racing Rt Hon Winston Peters on 10 December 2024. Cabinet directed the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to develop legislation removing the statutory mechanisms that allow greyhound racing to operate under the Racing Industry Act 2020, including removal of greyhound racing as a recognised racing code. A Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) was established to advise on and oversee the design of the closure process and transition arrangements for industry participants and racing greyhounds. On 19 August 2025, Cabinet confirmed its decision to proceed with a closure bill and accepted MAC recommendations including creation of a Transition Agency funded by TAB NZ. The Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill was introduced, considered by the Primary Production Committee, and passed by Parliament on 1 April 2026. Commercial greyhound racing remains in operation during the transition period; cessation is scheduled for 31 July 2026. Judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the Cabinet decision were initiated by the New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Inc (NZHC 2665); the substantive hearing was set for December 2025 and no court order suspending the legislative process has been documented in available sources.
Background Context
Before the 2024 decision, greyhound racing operated as one of three racing codes alongside thoroughbred and harness racing under the Racing Industry Act 2020, with Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) as the recognised code body and the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) providing independent monitoring. The New Zealand Government commissioned the Robertson Review in 2021, which examined industry practices and made recommendations for reform; following the review, Cabinet directed ongoing monitoring by the RIB, which provided regular briefings to the Minister for Racing on traceability, injury rates, and population management. In November 2024, DIA produced an interim Regulatory Impact Statement assessing options for the industry’s future — including continuation with changes, time-limited continuation, and closure — with closure identified as the option subsequently taken. SPCA New Zealand and other animal-focused NGOs had campaigned for an end to commercial greyhound racing over several years and participated in submissions to prior reviews. Media coverage by RNZ, 1News, and specialist outlets documented injury and death statistics in New Zealand greyhound racing and reported on Government monitoring and review processes.
System Impact
Direction
Reduces Exploitation
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
High
Following the 9 December 2024 Cabinet in-principle decision, DIA initiated a policy and legislative work programme and established the Ministerial Advisory Committee. Greyhound racing continued to operate under the Racing Industry Act 2020 framework during the transition period. The MAC delivered an interim report on 29 May 2025 recommending detailed legislative and operational steps including creation of a Transition Agency to centralise closure functions. On 19 August 2025, Cabinet confirmed its agreement to proceed with closure legislation and accepted the MAC recommendations. The Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament, considered by the Primary Production Committee — which in March 2026 recommended that the bill be passed — and passed by Parliament on 1 April 2026. The legislation removes the mechanisms by which greyhound racing is lawfully undertaken under the Racing Industry Act, with cessation of commercial racing scheduled for 31 July 2026. The Transition Agency, funded by TAB NZ, is designed to manage the orderly closure of GRNZ and racing clubs and coordinate transition arrangements for industry participants and racing greyhounds. The RIB continues monitoring the industry during the transition period.
Anticipated Effects
If closure proceeds as legislated, commercial greyhound racing events will cease after 31 July 2026, with no further commercial meetings permitted under the Racing Industry Act framework from 1 August 2026; the number of dogs used in commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand would reduce to zero within the statutory framework from that date.
If the Transition Agency is established and funded as proposed, the orderly wind-down of GRNZ and racing clubs would include coordination of rehoming programmes for former racing greyhounds; the proportion of racing greyhounds that transition to companion roles versus other outcomes is not established in available sources.
Whether any non-commercial or informal racing or coursing systems expand or emerge following closure is not assessed in sources consulted; the RIS and MAC documents focus on the commercial system governed by the Racing Industry Act and do not quantify informal channel risk.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Reduces Exploitation (impact direction) because the Cabinet decision and subsequent legislation eliminate commercial greyhound racing as a legally authorised activity in New Zealand, removing the exploitation system for dogs within the commercial GRNZ framework. If implemented as legislated, the cessation of all commercial race meetings from 1 August 2026 would reduce the number of dogs used in commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand to zero within the statutory framework. Whether greyhounds are rehomed, redirected to non-commercial contexts, or face other outcomes is not fully established in available sources.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the primary mechanism is the removal of the statutory basis for commercial greyhound racing under the Racing Industry Act 2020 — the legislative amendments remove greyhound racing as a recognised racing code. The scale change (elimination of the racing system) is the consequence of this legal basis removal, not the direct mechanism of the policy decision itself.
Assigned High significance because the decision affects the entirety of New Zealand’s commercial greyhound racing system — all licensed tracks, clubs, racing greyhounds, and the code-level entity GRNZ — and eliminates the sector as a legally authorised commercial activity nationwide rather than modifying a subset of its practices.
The scale change is structural within its scope: commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand is scheduled for elimination by 31 July 2026 under the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill passed 1 April 2026. The outcome of the judicial review initiated by the New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Inc (NZHC 2665) may affect this trajectory; no court order suspending the legislative process has been documented in available sources as of April 2026.
Key Actors
New Zealand Cabinet made the in-principle decision on 9 December 2024 to close the industry from 1 August 2026. Minister for Racing Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly announced the decision on 10 December 2024, oversaw commissioning of the MAC, and introduced subsequent legislation. DIA produced the Regulatory Impact Statements and provides ongoing policy support. Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) is the directly affected code body. The Racing Integrity Board monitors the industry during transition. The Ministerial Advisory Committee delivered its interim report on 29 May 2025 recommending the Transition Agency structure. TAB NZ is proposed as the funder of the Transition Agency. The New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Inc initiated judicial review proceedings (NZHC 2665) challenging the Cabinet decision. SPCA New Zealand publicly supported closure and participated in Parliamentary submissions.
Editorial Correction Notice
Affected practices: No Practices CPT records are assigned. The Cabinet decision eliminates the commercial greyhound racing system rather than directly regulating any specific practice within it. Practices of commercial greyhound racing — Conditioning & Training, Intensive Confinement, Selective Breeding, Slaughter, Live Transport — cease as a consequence of the system’s elimination rather than being directly regulated by this instrument. This follows the same convention as the Germany 2019 mink farm closure and Germany TierErzHaVerbG amendment records. Background practices of the closing system are documented in the Dogs animal record and the Racing industry record.
Development type: Classified as Government Policy because the 9 December 2024 event is a Cabinet in-principle policy decision directing closure and commissioning legislative implementation. The Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill passed 1 April 2026 is the Law & Regulation instrument; a separate Development record for the legislation itself may be warranted once racing has ceased and the full effects are documented.
Development date: Set to 9 December 2024 — the Cabinet in-principle decision date, confirmed from High Court proceedings (NZHC 2665). The public announcement was 10 December 2024.
Current status — judicial review: The New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Inc initiated judicial review proceedings (NZHC 2665) challenging the legality of the Cabinet decision. The substantive hearing was set for December 2025; no court order suspending the legislative process or the legislation’s effect has been documented in available sources as of April 2026. The current status should be updated if the substantive hearing produces an order affecting the closure timeline.
Scale & Prevalence: Quantified data on the number of racing greyhounds registered under GRNZ at the time of the decision are referenced in background review documents but not consolidated in the December 2024 RIS excerpts available. The figure of seven greyhound tracks in New Zealand appears in media and advocacy reporting and should be treated as secondary data.
Related records: This record covers the Cabinet policy decision through the 1 April 2026 legislative passage. A separate Development record for the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill as a Law & Regulation instrument may be created once the cessation date has passed and post-closure system effects can be documented.
Notice an inaccuracy or omission?
If you believe information on this page is incorrect, incomplete, or missing important context, you may submit a suggested correction for review.