greyhound racing
More times than I can remember in the past few years, including many nights I've driven to a coffee shop to work on not one sparrow, I've passed a greyhound racing track tucked behind an otherwise normal subdivision. At first I thought little of it, other than that it seemed like an unfortunate way for the locals to waste their time and money. But recently, as I've become more aware of other animal welfare issues, I've had a growing sense that something must be very wrong for the dogs at the track as well. I didn't know quite what that was, but I began to pray that God would close the place down as I drove by the backlot rows of short concrete sheds behind an imposing security fence.
Well, Dairyland Greyhound Park is still operating as I write. But I was thrilled to discover only a few weeks ago a number of dedicated groups which advocate on behalf of greyhounds, including GREY2K USA, which has an impressive track record of helping to close several tracks. I'm grateful to Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society for pointing me to them, and to the Greyhound Protection Act in Massachusetts which they've jointly sponsored along with the MA Committee to Protect Dogs and other local and national organizations.
Why all the fuss you might ask? "At commercial racetracks across the country, thousands of dogs live in warehouse-style kennels, confined for long hours each day in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around." Thousands of greyhounds are badly injured in racing accidents annually, and far too many are euthanized when their racing days are done (GREY2K USA). Pacelle notes that the dogs' injuries include "broken bones, paralysis and death from cardiac arrest." And he adds that the greyhound racing industry has "claimed that Massachusetts dog tracks have a 100 percent adoption rate," while "the actual adoption rate, according to state records, is only 14 percent."
The Greyhound Protection Act, or "Yes on 3," will be on the ballot in Massachusetts this November 4th (like Prop 2 in California which I'll be posting more on next week). It aims to phase out commercial dog racing in the state by 2010. not one sparrow has endorsed "Yes on 3," and you can read more about it here. I also strongly recommend this accompanying video, which is both informative and moving in a very softspoken way:
(photo copyright 123rf.com)
Ben DeVries
Please see our follow-up posts with some phenomenal news on the end of greyhound racing in both Massachusetts and Wisconsin!
Reader Comments (5)
Ben, great post! My husband and I volunteered for a number of years with a greyhound rescue here in Vermont. Those dogs were the sweetest, most loving animals imaginable. We were repeatedly amazed at how trusting they were after all the abuse they had been through. Nearly all of them were so scarred or missing portions of their ears or had horrible teeth issues causing them much pain. They are such mistreated, neglected animals, and they still maintain their sweet dispositions. I'm glad you're drawing attention to this topic!
Thanks, Tracy, it's really cool to hear you were involved with greyhound rescue as well as your work with other breeds. I keep hearing more and more good things about their temperament, and beginning to get the itch to adopt one someday!
Hey Ben. This post caught my interest, for the obvious reason. Living by the same track as you. I also have a distant cousin who works with the dogs at that track, not sure if he's still there or not, but I'd be interested to hear his side of it. I've also spoken with another woman who, I believe, worked there as well, and has adopted about 3-5 retired dogs! Small house, too small for all those dogs, but obviously her heart was too big not to care. She raved about how good a breed of dogs they are, and with the interaction I had with them that night, I would agree.
I know issues can get exaggerated easily and hyped up bigger than what they should be, so I searched around a little to find some more info about the sport. Here's a page from the Humane Society of the US: Greyhound Racing Facts. It's a good FAQ page about the dogs and the sport.
I never thought that abuse was a big issue at these tracks, but it makes sense, being that so much money is involved. I've always been under the impression that the dogs were well-taken care of and enjoyed racing. Of course there will always be injuries. There are with anything though. Car racing, basketball, football, etc. I'd really like to hear more from a reliable source before I put all my eggs in the "let's close all the tracks" basket.
Hey Ben, thank you for this post, I forgot about the Dairyland Greyhound track. I have a mysterious love of greyhounds, they are so gentle and kind and humble. I agree that the greyhound racing industry is not good for anyone and hope we can continue to pray for closed tracks and healing and love for the retired dogs that are lucky enough to make it to retirement ... I know I want to adopt one (or more)!
Josh, thank you for the very thought-out and well-written response, and for the very helpful link to the HSUS page. I hadn't seen that yet, but I did know HSUS was cosponsoring the Yes on 3 ballot. In response to your last comment, I actually received a kind but disagreeing note on Friday from someone associated with the group which is campaigning to keep greyhound racing in Massachusetts. Their website is Vote No on 3, but just know that it's paid for by an industry lobbying group, and one with a rather misleading name to boot (see the link to Pacelle's post above). Some counter-responses to their claims are available at Question 3 Facts, which is part of the Yes on 3 MA campaign.