Horrible news out of greyhound racing – and a bit of good news
GREY2K USA co-founder Carey Theil reports this week on some very troubling news out of greyhound racing on his blog, Saving Greys.
It seems the National Greyhound Association claimed the practice of live lure training ended in the 1980s, after a big public outcry. The barbaric training system for racing greyhounds uses live rabbits and I don’t need to tell you what happens to them.
Theil offers a link to a live lure case from 2002. And a Texas trainer had to give up his license in 2011 after a video surfaced of him using live rabbits to train greyhounds. GREY2K’s request for a copy of the video was denied, but they did receive a transcripts and an audio recording, which is included in the blog post.
AND – Across the big pond in the UK, attendance was down for a big-time greyhound race. An Oxford Mail writer used terms like “Oxford’s biggest night of the year” and “prestigious Ladbrokes Pall Mall final.” Wow! I mean even with attendance down one would think something described as “the biggest night of the year” would draw a lot of bodies in the seats.
How many showed up for this “prestigious” event? – less than 500. And what did the writer claim was a typical turnout for a huge dog race? – twice that number. So they’re getting 1,000 people tops for the biggest night of the racing year.
And so what did the writer blame for about 500 people not showing up? – England’s Euro 2012 soccer match against the Ukraine team. On an average night, the third-division professional soccer team in my hometown – in the US – draws more than three times the typical number of fans the Oxford Mail claims are there for a big greyhound race. For a big match, that local soccer team in my area can draw over 5,000 – for US third-division soccer.
In reality, attendance is not down for greyhound racing because soccer is on TV. Attendance is down for greyhound racing because more and more people are learning about the horrors of the sport – industry.
Not a surprise that yet another horror story associated to the dog racing industry is revealed.
Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane. Greyhounds endure lives of nearly constant confinement, kept in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. While racing, many dogs suffer and die from injuries including broken legs, paralysis, and cardiac arrest. And many greyhounds are euthanized every year, as the number retired from racing exceeds the number of adoptive homes.
At racetracks across the country, greyhounds endure lives of confinement. According to industry statements, greyhounds are generally confined in their cages for approximately 20 hours per day. They live inside warehouse-style kennels in stacked cages that are barely large enough to stand up or turn around. Generally, shredded paper or carpet remnants are used as bedding.
An undercover video recently released by GREY2K USA shows the conditions in which these gentle dogs are forced to live: http://www.grey2kusa.org/azVideo.html
For more information on injuries these dogs suffer, please view:
http://www.grey2kusa.org/azInjuries.html
http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-022811Email.html
Dogs play an important role in our lives and deserve to be protected from industries and individuals that do them harm.
V Wolf Board Member, GREY2K USA
Val,
Thank you for including your thoughts in this topic. And a big thank you to GREY2K for its work on fighting for greyhounds and against dog racing.