The greyhound racing industry has reached an unwanted milestone, with 100 greyhounds euthanased this year due to injuries sustained during a race or in the catching pen.
Bendigo in Victoria has the highest number of deaths with 10 so far this year, followed by Ipswich in Queensland with eight.
In addition, more than 3,000 greyhounds have been injured while racing in 2020, including 600 with major injuries.
This year's 100th death was recorded earlier this month in Bendigo, where a two-year-old dog was euthanased after fracturing a femur in a catching-pen incident.
Dennis Anderson, president of the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG), said the dogs entered the catching pen at fast speeds at the end of a race.
"When the race is over, a gate comes across the track and forces the dog to run into a confined area where they are then caught by the handlers," Mr Anderson said.
"You've got dogs running at 60 kilometres per hour suddenly being diverted into a very small area."
A report from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) focusing on how to improve welfare in the sport was released in 2017.
Mr Anderson said recommendations on track design and greyhound numbers needed to be adopted.
"The main issue is the dogs are racing on oval tracks; the dogs tend to bunch up on the curves, and when they collide, they are shattering their limbs," he said.
"The other thing is the fact that there are eight dogs in a race rather than six, meaning there's a greater chance of collision.
"The dogs should be raced on straight tracks, and the number of dogs racing should be reduced from eight to six — that's the maximum number that can be raced in the United Kingdom."
Greyhound Racing Victoria responded to questions with a statement:
"GRV internally reviews all major incidents on tracks and works with Professor David Eager from UTS as an independent adviser on track design and initiatives to promote safer racing."
