'We are gonna blow all our dogs away': Threat at greyhound track

Security guards defused a tense stand-off at Auckland’s greyhound racing track with an industry supporter telling animal rights protesters, “we are gonna blow all our dogs away”.

Video from Sunday showed a small group of animal welfare protesters holding placards outside Manukau Stadium, where the final dog race meetings were held before a ban of the sport takes effect.

Greyhound racing officially ends on Friday, July 31, with the formal ban in place from Saturday, August 1.

Greyhound racing supporters yell abuse at animal welfare protesters at Manukau Stadium on Sunday.

Some of those who approached protesters at the fenced-off racetrack boundary can be seen holding drinks and swearing at the activists.

Linda Nunn, from the Animal Re-homing Charitable Trust, who filmed at the fence line, told the Herald it was a “frightening” and “aggressive” situation.

“We had a couple of our volunteers who left early because they found it too intimidating,” she said.

At one point in the video, a man can be heard telling protesters of their plans for the racing dogs.

“What you fellas need to know is, guess what, on Monday we are gonna blow all our dogs away, f*** ya,” one man yelled at protesters.

Linda Nunn, from the Animal Rehoming Charitable Trust, was at Manukau Stadium to hold a vigil for dead and injured dogs, when racing supporters began abusing her and others. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Nunn said she took one man’s threat to mean he intended to kill his dogs, and notified authorities.

“We went to the police station last night to report that and have also been to the SPCA this morning,” she told the Herald.

A police spokesperson confirmed to the Herald a complaint had been received and was being assessed.

Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) CEO Edward Rennell said the man who made the threats to kill dogs is not a licensed trainer and is not known to GRNZ.

“If the comment attributed to the unidentified individual is accurate, it is reprehensible and entirely inconsistent with both the law and the standards expected of licensed participants,” he said.

Rennell said before the stand-off, activists promoted plans on social media to attend the track to “confront people who were lawfully going about their business”.

As part of Racing Minister Winston Peters’ ban on the sport, new laws were introduced to prevent anyone killing dogs before the ban takes effect.

The laws mean anyone intentionally killing a registered racing greyhound can be fined up to $50,000 or jailed for 12 months.

Nunn said police were called during Sunday’s confrontation as she and others feared the situation could escalate.

“They were reaching through trying to grab us when we were on the other side.”

Nunn said her group was accused of being paedophiles, and had homophobic slurs directed at them.

“It was appalling.”

The situation ended after security guards intervened and racing participants walked off. Nunn said police arrived just as protesters also dispersed.

She was at the stadium to hold a vigil for dogs killed and injured at the track over many decades of racing there, and to pay tribute to groups such as the SPCA and SAFE – animal rights groups that have long opposed the sport.

Greyhound racing will end on Friday, July 31.

Part of the Government’s ban involved the establishment of the Greyhound Transition Agency (GTA), a group set up to oversee the rehoming of about 2900 racing dogs.

When the ban commences, the GTA would also take control of GRNZ, any surplus cash it holds, and assets such as offices and racing infrastructure.

In May, the Herald revealed a charter plane was being covertly arranged to fly up to 70 racing dogs to Australia, before the ban comes into force.

Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won the best coverage of a major news event at the 2024 Voyager NZ Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.