Greyhounds Australasia (GA) wishes to update participants regarding its Advisory Panel on Oestrus Management (APOM). The panel has met on several occasions and continues to research, and review information into the complicated matter of oestrus control in the female racing greyhound.

Investigations to date have led the panel to recommend and advise the GA Board that they:

• Support ethyloestrenol based products as an option for managing oestrus and encourages the manufacturer to obtain full product registration.
• See limited benefit of conducting a trial with respect to the spaying of bitches due to the cost of the exercise, and the view that trainers would not be receptive to this practice.
• Believe the practicalities of using a medication verification system like a trainer’s booklet to be impractical due to the extra burden placed on vets, administrators and participants.
• Note that the UK Authorities are also considering another permitted oestrus suppression medication, which may be in the form of the human pill. The panel was not receptive to reviewing the human pill given the lengthy process involved to undertake research, assess and then potentially register for the specific purpose of oestrus control.

Two veterinary procedures to manage oestrus are also under review by the panel and involves:

• The use of prostaglandin injections to stop the "milk period" in racing bitches. This injection causes regression of the corpus luteum, which happens naturally in other species, excluding the canine. This product has been on the market for over 20 years but vets have been reluctant to use it on racing greyhounds because of the perceived side affects.
• The use of medications, which decrease the production of prolactin by the pituitary gland, such as bromocriptine (Parlodel) or carbergoline (Dostinex).

Finally, the panel is also working with the Australian Greyhound Veterinary Association (AGVA) to determine whether testosterone propionate may, some time in the future, become an alternative oestrus suppressant to ethyloestrenol.

Greyhounds Australasia thanks the APOM committee members for their input to date.