In Florida and Iowa efforts are underway to decouple greyhound racing from casinos, where the races are unbelievably require by law to exist and the dog-racing industry is getting huge subsidies/kickbacks that could go to other programs.

Thankfully, we are seeing forward movement in efforts to end dog racing, saving so many greyhounds from a life of being used as profit machines for a dark corner of the gambling industry. If people are going to gamble, why not let it be on sports, cards, dice or slot machines.

I am also really pleased to see the heightened level of press coverage we’re seeing on this subject. It ranges from information about the idiotic requirements for a set number of races to the huge amount of money being handed over to the industry every year to the unacceptable number of greyhounds deaths each year.

First up, let’s go to the other side, for a bit of strange support for the industry. The Quad-City Times ran an editorial today from an attorney for the Iowa dog racing industry.

He writes:

Despite the greyhound industry’s critical role in enabling these racinos to make hundreds of millions of dollars, they no longer want to have to share it with their “spouses” (the racing industry).

Huh?? – What?? – Dog racing is bleeding losses and is costing taxpayers and the casinos big money. If this was not true, the casinos would never ask for the decoupling to take place. I can’t even believe anyone would make that statement.

And it seems Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad also disagrees with the racing attorney. The Des Moines Register quotes Branstad as calling greyhound racing “a dying industry.” Great stuff, Gov – including the use of the phrase “industry” as opposed to “sport.” Dog racing and horse racing are NOT sports.

I’ve noted many times that dog racing could never be a sport and horse racing could only be a sport if the horses rode on the backs of the jockeys.

Branstad supports the shutdown of the state’s two casino tracks in Dubuque and Council Bluffs and opposes a proposed agreement that would allow a dog track to open elsewhere.

Here’s the great quote:

“Dog racing is dying throughout the country,” Branstad said.  “It doesn’t seem to make sense to open another track when it is a dying industry.”

The Des Moines Register also reports on the formation of a new group – “Iowans for Ending Dog Racing.”

Greater Dubuque Development Corp. President Rick Dickinson – according to the blog post – is referenced in the following –

He said the only thing keeping dog racing alive in Iowa is $13 million in annual subsidies from Iowa’s casinos.

The opposition to dog racing is growing in West Virginia, where a casino vice president is speaking out against racing mandates.

In Florida, where a movement is also underway to decouple dog racing, Robin Ganzert, the head of the American Humane Association, is speaking out concerning the inhumane treatment of the dogs.

The publication Clay Today out of Florida ran a piece today under the headline – “Greyhound Racing Fading to Black.”

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