Pack Topic: Greyhound Racing
GREY2K USA announces release of new dog-racing database: GREY2K USA is promoting the release of a new greyhound-racing database, which lists disciplinary rulings as they relate to problems within the dog racing industry.
On his Saving Greys blog, GREY2K co-founder Carey Theil notes the “rulings come from 13 states, and span more than two decades from 1990 to 2012.” He also includes a link to the database.
Tucson Greyhound Park can reduce number of races: A new Arizona law allows the Tucson Greyhound Park to reduce its annual number of races from 200 to 100. While the state should have imposed an outright ban on the industry, this is a step in the right direction.
An article posted Thursday on AZCentral.com includes a good bit of important information. It seems the folks who run the track and animal-welfare advocates are pleased with the new regulation. (But again, on the animal-welfare side, it’s seen as a step.)
But the article notes the the executive director of the National Greyhound Association does not like the news. He notes the number of racetracks in the US has dropped by 60 percent since 1992 (good news) and he believes this new law will lead to further declines. This is one case where I hope someone on the other side is more than right.
The article describes the Tucson track as being “run-down” – “with chipped paint, cracking roofs and grimy yellow walls.” (More good news.)
A rep for the Arizona Department of Racing tried to blame the decline of racing on the economy. Wrong – It is the increase in awareness about the treatment of the dogs that has been the major player. The rep tries to say the decline began in the 1990s. Wrong – I guess the pro-racing side forgets that the economy was great in the 1990s.
And we should point out how wrong it is that states like Arizona and Florida require casinos to hold so many races per year. So this is an industry that has a level of protection no other industry I can think of enjoys. The state requires it to operate. It doesn’t matter how much money it loses every month and every year. It doesn’t matter how much suffering the dogs endure and it doesn’t matter how many dogs die every year. The industry has the full protection and support of the state governments.
The heads of every other business operation in the states of Florida and Arizona should demand equal protection.
Well done, Tom. Well done.
Thanks for this information, Tom.
Tucson Greyhound Park in AZ also receives a yearly “hardship tax credit”, which exempts it from paying taxes to the State on its racing and pari-mutuel revenues. I wonder how many other businesses, large and small (mom & pop businesses, brick & mortar chains) in Arizona would love to benefit from the same tax credit.
The tax credit for Tucson Greyhound Park went into effect 17 years ago. It was supposed to be in force for 5 years, but it has been quietly renewed and remains in existence.
It’s just another means to prop up a greyhound track that is gasping for its last breath.
Excellent blog post.
Tucson Greyhound Park had a fire a few years back and not all the damage is fixed, certainly not the tower which has to raise its code standards.
Dogs coming out of the dog track in South Tucson have worms, giardia, tics, and injuries galore. While the GM says things are fine…he couldn’t possibly be talking about the conditions for the dogs.
Thank you all for stopping by to offer your input on this topic.
How can it be that an industry like greyhound racing is getting all of these breaks from states?
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