Dog racing

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

HSUS is on to something. There are 49 Greyhound tracks in the USA and 9 in NZ so it is still big business and the wellbeing of the racing Greyhound is secondary or less.

There are 35 Greyhound tracks still in operation (not 49) in the US. I don't know about NZ. It is a rapidly declining business, no longer the "big" business it once was. Public interest has waned. Remaining tracks are losing money and looking to replace dog racing with slot machines and other types of gambling. Legislation is not necessary as it appears the Greyhound industry is dieing a slow natural death. Capitalism is much better than legislation at determining which industries survive or fail.

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

A Greyhound will race no matter his/her condition.

This is unsubstantiated and I'm not sure it's relevant. Why would an owner race a dog in poor condition...one who is not likely to be a "winner"?

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Racing Greyhounds in the USA are generally fed 4-D meat which is unsuitable and dangerous for dogs.

So now you're more concerned about dog nutrition? Those 4 D meats (dying, dead, diseased or disabled) not fit for human consumption are called "4 D" when raw. When cooked they are called meat- or poultry-by-products, which are included in many of the commercial kibbled foods you continually recommend to forum members. Neither 4 D meats nor by-products are necessarily dangerous for dogs, they're just not optimum for nutrition compared to whole natural better-quality meats. I would not feed either 4 D or by-products to my dogs.

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Greyhounds that are no longer required for racing in the USA are often riddled with parasites with open sores and broken bones.

Again I believe you write from a historical perspective, not the current situation of the racing Greyhound. The shameful history of the industry twenty years ago caused media attention and public awareness of what were horrible conditions twenty years ago. Greyhound owners may not have changed the treatment of the dogs without the public outrage, but the outrage did cause them to straighten up their act and vastly improve the dogs' living conditions and turn the retired dogs over to adoption groups rather than killing them.

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

I think it is very good that we don't have Corgi racing, don't you?

This is totally not relevant to the conversation to compare a racing breed to a herding breed. Many Corgi's do excel at Flyball however, a relay race requiring short bursts of energy, which seems to be a racing sport which can be a lot of fun for our dogs. ...but really kind of off the topic.

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

People who are in the Greyhound racing industry are probably likely to be game hunters and also couldn't care less how many deer and other creatures they wound, injure or kill - even in tightly restricted areas - as long as they get their fun and profit out of it.

You're just making that up for a laugh.


At the end of the day, we are seeing the Greyhound racing industry die on its own. We do not need the help, nor do we need to be tieing up the time and resources of legislators to mandate an end to dog racing. As I initially suggested, existing laws against cruelty, abuse and neglect should be enforced. It appears that media attention, not animal laws, have been much more effective at reducing the industry abuse and establishing the very successful grass-roots efforts of Greyhound Rescues over the past 20 years. All the hype and hysteria presented by animal rights groups to pass these laws is based on data and information which is 10-20 years old. I see no current justification for the government to get involved.

[Peggy]

Humans will be real losers when Raynham, Wonderland shuttered - BostonHerald.com

Racing communities mourn track closures - BostonHerald.com