The Herald understands the plane that left Christchurch – paid for by Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) – is one of two private charter flights that will fly up to 140 dogs in total to Australia.
It’s understood the second flight will leave for Australia later this month at a cost Vaughan believed would be significant.
“Charter flights are very expensive; in the hundreds of thousands, and we’ve heard that there are two flights. This is money that would have otherwise been transferred to the Greyhound Transition Agency (GTA) for rehoming of dogs as pets,” Vaughan told the Herald.
Video of dozens of dogs in wooden crates preparing to be put on the first flight was filmed by animal rights advocacy group, Grassroots Campaigns Aotearoa.
Footage supplied to the Herald shows dogs yelping as they were towed into the airport on a series of trailers just after 3am Wednesday.
Other video filmed in daylight shows a dog being put into a crate on the tarmac in a MAF holding area.
Vaughan said while the dogs arrived at the airport Wednesday, the flight didn’t take off until the following day, which raised concerns about their welfare.
“What we’re not clear about is what happened in the 24-hours between the first flight that tried to leave and the flight that did finally take them to their destination 24 hours later.”
GRNZ CEO Edward Rennell has previously told the Herald any relocations would adhere to all veterinary, animal transport and biosecurity requirements, and the dogs’ welfare would be the “overriding consideration”.
Footage seen by the Herald shows the dogs had water and were wearing coats.
At the time, in a private Facebook message, trainers were urged to consider putting “breeding bitches and stud dogs” on the plane so they could “continue their breeding careers and realise their potential”.
The message said GRNZ would pay for the flight and assist with documentation and vet checks with MPI.
The Herald sought comment from GRNZ after hearing two charter flights were confirmed, but Rennell would not confirm or deny any relocation plans, say if GRNZ would pay for both trips, nor detail the cost.
“These are private decisions for individual owners and do not give rise to any wider public interest. Accordingly, we will not be commenting on the circumstances of individual owners or on any specific relocation arrangements,” Rennell told the Herald.
He said prior to the ban being implemented that the focus “remains on supporting our people and safeguarding the welfare of every greyhound”.
Rennell has also previously said that any greyhound that’s relocated will reduce pressure on New Zealand’s rehoming services.
Vaughan argues the situation only shifts the problem across the ditch, where there’s already a rehoming crisis.
“These dogs, if they survive to the end of their racing career, will still need to be rehomed, and we know that over in Queensland, they’re also struggling with rehoming greyhounds,” she said.
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Contact senior investigative reporter Michael Morrah
The greyhound industry has been the subject of
multiple critical reviews, which raised concerns about dog welfare and injury rates.
Greyhound racing was
officially banned in New Zealand on August 1, with the final races run on July 31.
The Herald asked the GTA whether GRNZ gave it a heads-up about its relocation plans, and what it cost, but the agency is yet to respond.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024. 
