Australian greyhounds are being purchased for up to $220,000 each and exported to China where they are fuelling an underground racing industry by exploiting loopholes in Australia’s regulations.
ABC Investigations has uncovered a sophisticated supply chain where the dogs are sold by local agents to buyers in China who breed them for lucrative fees.
An online breeding site, Greyhound YY, lists records from more than 700 Australian greyhounds obtained by breeders in China, dating back to 2006.
These greyhounds, some from good bloodlines, are in high demand in China for illegal racing with claims that some wealthy Chinese owners are betting millions a night on their offspring, despite gambling being prohibited in the country.
State based greyhound authorities don’t allow racing dogs to be exported to China by industry participants because of poor welfare standards.
While exporting greyhounds to China is not illegal, it can breach industry rules set down by racing regulators, unless participants obtain approval before exporting a dog.
In 2016, a New South Wales Special Commission of inquiry called on the federal government to have greater oversight and control of exports to China and other destinations.
Despite this, greyhound exports to China are continuing, and a Senate inquiry is considering whether there should be a federal government ban on all commercial greyhound exports.
In an interview with ABC Investigations, Wang Yungang, an agent based in China’s Shangdong province, revealed details of how this lucrative scheme works.
He said wealthy Chinese buyers are hiring agents in China and Australia to identify, purchase, and transport Australian greyhounds.
“The prices at which agents help Chinese buyers purchase dogs are kept secret. Chinese buyers will pay millions of yuan to buy dogs from Australia,” said Mr Wang.
‘You must keep it strictly confidential’
Mr Wang told the ABC Australian greyhounds were being exported and bred, and their offspring were being used for illegal racing and betting.
“All Australian greyhounds were bought in China for gambling. Once they arrive, they become stud dogs for breeding. They wouldn’t be sold for that much money if they were just pets,” he said.
“Some wealthy Chinese place more than 10 million yuan ($2 million) per night on the dogs,” he added.
Mr Wang said most underground racing tracks are in the northern provinces of Shandong and Hebei. He said the syndicates behind the racing operations are well-connected to local police.
In a promotional video, Mr Wang said buying an Australian greyhound was a high risk operation, citing a buyer who paid $120,000 for a dog but failed to ship it back to China.
“If you want to buy a greyhound from Australia, you must keep it strictly confidential.”
A commercial contract he shared online sheds light on the process of buying retired, record-winning Australian greyhounds.
It sets out how a Chinese buyer would tell an agent the dog’s expected age range and budget. The buyer then pays a $15,000 deposit to the agent to look for the right dog.
The agent, in return, would guarantee the stud dog’s health and fertility.
Dog breeding companies or clubs in China advertise Australian greyhounds as “super stud dogs” and sell the breeding rights for more than $2,000 each.
One Australian greyhound was bred more than 40 times in the five months after he arrived in China, according to its online breeding records.
Mr Wang claimed agents in China outbid each other for prized greyhounds and were fiercely competitive, at times even sabotaging each other by tipping off Australian authorities.
Where did Katoby go?
The ongoing export of Australian greyhounds to countries with limited animal welfare regimes like China is partly driven by loopholes in state greyhound regulations, and limited oversight from the federal government.
A key loophole being exploited by agents in China is sending greyhounds to third countries considered to have sufficient welfare standards, and then on to China.
To comply with the rules, racing participants must seek a greyhound passport from the national body Greyhound Australasia to export racing greyhounds to approved countries including the UK, Ireland and the United States.
Failing to obtain a passport can lead to prosecution and disqualification by state racing bodies.
ABC Investigations has tracked several dogs which were exported to the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa but later sent to China and advertised on the Greyhound YY breeding site.
Greyhound Australasia’s CEO Simon Stout told ABC Investigations: “Most greyhound exports occur within the passport system, though we acknowledge there are some bad actors who try to get around the system.”
One good example is the case of Australian greyhound Katoby, which in September 2020, was exported to South Africa, according to microchip records obtained by greyhound welfare group Free the Hounds.
But Katoby ultimately ended up in China, appearing on the Chinese breeding website Greyhound YY. Videos posted on social media show Katoby advertised for breeding.
Katoby was purchased by English-based animal welfare group Candy’s Hound Rescue International, which rescues greyhounds from China and transports them to the UK.
The greyhound was purchased on behalf of Australian animal welfare group Free the Hounds.
Katoby’s last registered owner Daniel Flanagan told ABC Investigations he believed the dog was in fact being sent to Ireland, and he had obtained a passport from Greyhound Australasia for that transfer.
He said he was not aware that Katoby was sent to South Africa or that the dog ended up in China.
The ABC does not suggest that Mr Flanagan knew his dog was not being sent to Ireland.
Further microchip records obtained by Free the Hounds show two other greyhounds sent to the United States and the United Kingdom from Australia in 2020 appearing on the same Chinese breeding website as the other dogs.
Cash payment filmed
ABC Investigations has uncovered one failed attempt by a Chinese based buyer to exploit this third country loophole, which has resulted in spectacular claims of kidnapping dogs for ransom which led to the prosecution of a well known Australian greyhound owner.
In 2021, Gloria Cheng, a greyhound trainer in Melbourne, entered into an arrangement with a Chinese-based buyer, Gao Chuang, to export a greyhound named Myrniong and All. The agreement required the greyhound to be exported to Ireland.
The contract between Mr Gao and Ms Cheng required her to send the dog within two months, in exchange for $34,400. Ms Cheng did not own the greyhound at the time of the arrangement.
Video obtained by ABC Investigations shows wads of cash being handed to Ms Cheng, allegedly for this purchase.
However, the transaction was stopped by the Victorian greyhound regulator, which was concerned about its “bona fides”.
“The example of Myrniong and All shows that GRV will intervene when not satisfied about the bona fides of a proposed export to prevent a greyhound from leaving the country, said the CEO of Greyhound Racing Victoria Stuart Laing.
The ABC tracked down the buyer Mr Gao, who said he eventually planned to bring the dog to China.
He said he had a dog breeding facility in China that specialises in breeding the offspring of Australian greyhounds.
“Chinese buyers love Australian greyhounds. It has been the case for the last two decades,” said Mr Gao.
Ms Cheng did not respond to questions from ABC Investigations.
‘This can all go away’
This was far from the end of the story.
Mr Gao is now suing Ms Cheng over the failed export and the dispute has drawn in a well known Australian greyhound industry figure Vince Tullio.
Mr Tullio, a plumber who has also owned greyhounds, says he offered to help Mr Gao get his money back from Ms Cheng.
In an extraordinary admission, Mr Tullio told ABC Investigations he broke into Ms Cheng’s kennels and removed two of her greyhounds from them, and demanded a ransom of $43,500 in exchange for the dogs.
In a Facebook message, Mr Tullio told Ms Cheng that if she did not pay the money, he would alert Greyhound Racing Victoria.
“This can all go away if you do the right thing and you can enjoy racing your dogs again,” he wrote.
“I expect money to be ready Thursday…no games, no lies, no excuses!! Just make sure u have the money, I will be sending someone around to collect it and no one will find out about anything.”
Mr Tullio’s threats and the kidnapping of the greyhounds eventually led to him being found guilty of several offences under Victorian greyhound racing rules, and being disqualified from the industry for eight months.
Mr Tullio said he is no longer involved in greyhound racing.
Mr Gao and Mr Tullio, described as Gao’s “Australian representative and agent”, are now pursing Ms Cheng in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to recover the $40,400 paid to her for the dog. Ms Cheng denies the claims or that any funds are owed, and did not respond to questions from the ABC.
Mr Tullio told ABC Investigations he was acting as a “debt collector” for Mr Gao in Australia because Mr Gao, as a Chinese national, was unable to initiate VCAT proceedings himself, and because he disliked Ms Cheng.
He said he received no payment for assisting in the case, which is ongoing.
The China-based agent ABC Investigations interviewed, Mr Wang, alleges that Mr Tullio is not just a debt collector but also has helped Chinese buyers purchase Australian greyhounds.
“Many people in China know Vince,” said Mr Wang in a video posted on his social media account.
When asked to respond to Mr Wang’s claims that he was involved in exports to China, Mr Tullio initially said “I’m famous, that’s good”.
He denied sending any dogs to China or being involved in their export, but said he supported it generally.
“It’s not against the law. If it’s against the law, well then there’s an issue, but it’s not against the law,” he said.
“To be honest with you, they look after them better than the Australian people do.
“Everyone thinks in China they do this, they do that, they do this over there. It’s all bullshit. I’m telling you now, it’s all bullshit, they get treated better over there than they do in Australia.”
Mr Tullio has also been allegedly linked to another greyhound export loophole, by which dogs are retired and classified as pets before being exported.
A NSW dog, Mickey Doo, was retired from racing and re-classified as a pet before being exported directly to China. Mickey Doo’s last registered owner, prominent thoroughbred owner Luke Murrell, told ABC Investigations he sold his greyhound to Mr Tullio.
Mr Tullio denied he was sold the dog or had any dealings with it, but said “if the dog is retired, and is a pet, it’s allowed to go to any country in the world”.
State greyhound regulators’ jurisdiction is limited to people connected to the racing industry, making it difficult to stamp out exports to China.
Greyhound authorities in Australia are currently investigating the case of Mickey Doo, and another dog, Federal Morgan, also exported to China using this loophole in the past year.
The Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission NSW said: “These greyhounds were rehomed by industry participant owners and placed on the Companion Animals Register [CAR], thereby making them pets.
“Once former racing greyhounds become pets, their export becomes the responsibility of the Australian Government.”
Calls for tighter export control
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has recently introduced a bill to ban greyhound exports for commercial purposes.
She said the current industry regime, as well as the responses of successive federal governments, had failed to stop the export of greyhounds.
“The bill will require the minister’s permission if someone wants to export a greyhound for companion animal purposes,” she said.
“And the responsibility will also be on the person who’s taking the greyhound to make sure that they provide evidence to the minister that that is actually the purpose for which it is going.”
Greyhound industry bodies do not support the bill and have argued a simpler fix would help stop exports of greyhounds that would be against their rules.
The GRV CEO, Mr Laing, said his organisation supported building on the current passport system, to introduce a process whereby state regulatory bodies are notified of export applications by the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
He said he supported an “industry led response” and insisted the issue was one of “small scale”.
Greyhound Australasia’s CEO, Mr Stout, said this approach was “the most efficient means of stopping the very small number of greyhounds that are exported to unauthorised countries”.
Official DAFF records show that 109 greyhounds have been exported to China since 2014.
When ABC Investigations asked Greyhound Australasia if it had reviewed the 700 Australian greyhounds listed on the breeding website in China, it did not directly address the question.
A spokesman for the agriculture department said it was currently discussing with state and territory authorities whether it could share export information.
In 2016, under the Coalition government, a NSW special commission of inquiry report by former High Court judge Michael McHugh strongly encouraged the federal government to take a more strident approach to regulating greyhound exports itself.
“The time is ripe for the Federal Government to step up to the plate. It is the only entity that can provide national leadership in respect of what is an important area concerning animal welfare. There is an opportunity for it to do so,” Mr McHugh wrote.
Since that time there have been no changes made to the way the federal government oversees greyhound exports.
However, the federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told ABC Investigations he would consider the outcomes of the current Senate inquiry.
“The Albanese government supports strong animal welfare standards and believes all animals should be treated humanely,” he said.
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