Victoria
***** News on 23 August 2018 *****
The Victorian Government has removed the compulsory muzzling requirement for pet greyhounds which comes into effect January 2019:
"The Governor in Council under section 5 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994, makes the following Order:
1 Objectives
The objectives of this Order are –
(a) to exempt the class of animals, being non-racing greyhounds, from the requirement to be muzzled when outside the premises of their owners; and
(b) to revoke an existing Order exempting greyhounds registered under the Greyhound Adoption Program from the requirement to be muzzled when outside the premises of their owners."
View the full Governor in Council announcement HERE.
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Until January 2019, the old rules apply:
Under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (division 2, S.27 (1b)), all Greyhounds in Victoria must be muzzled and leashed when outside the premises of their owner (even when in council designated 'off leash' exercise areas). If the owner does not comply he is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty of not more than 3 penalty units for a first offence and 5 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. One penalty unit is currently $161.19 from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.
View current penalty and fee units HERE.
Dogs that have passed through Greyhound Racing Victoria's Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP), do not need to be muzzled in public places. These dogs have been temperament tested and socialised prior to being made available for adoption. They are identifiable by their individually numbered, green GAP collar.
View the Domestic Animals Act 1994 HERE.
View the exemption rules for greyhounds HERE.
Greyhounds that come from other rescue groups can be enrolled to be temperament tested by GAP. For this, the greyhounds have to go to the GAP kennels in Seymore on a Monday and are usually ready to be picked up on Thursday or Friday. This is an assessment only (not a training course). No information is provided about the test that is carried out or the quality of the assessors. Owners are not allowed to be present when the tests are conducted.
Note that all other legal requirements, such as registration with the local council in which they reside, still apply to GAP dogs and they must always be on leash when in public places.
View information on greyhound laws from the Victorian government HERE.