SHOT, STARVED, SOLD FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH... NO WONDER THEY RUN SO FAST!
Why ban Greyhound racing?
Sadly, greyhound racing is not a "sport" about fast dogs, but a state-sanctioned form of gambling ruled by profit. It is inherently cruel to a gentle and ancient breed of dog once favored by nobility. When greyhounds do not run profitably, they are of little use to the racing business. Approximately 20,000 greyhounds are killed each year in the United States alone. Despite racing industry propaganda, the majority of unwanted greyhounds are not placed as pets - there are simply not enough homes for them all.
Since 1990, there have been more than 51 media-documented cases of mistreatment of greyhounds, collectively involving thousands of dogs. These cases include greyhounds shot, abandoned, left starving in their crates, sold for medical experimentation, and even electrocuted.
Many greyhound puppies and youngsters are judged to be of inferior racing quality at birth or during the farm training process. Many owners elect not to continue investing in dogs that demonstrate little potential of making money; the vast majority of those dogs are destroyed on the farm before they ever start a racing career. Young greyhounds that do show promise are individually registered and named before going to a track at about 18 months.
Those greyhounds lucky enough to make it to a racetrack typically live in crates for 18-20 hours per day with exercise limited to only every fourth day or so when they race. Some are left muzzled almost constantly. The dogs are often fed raw meat from diseased livestock rejected by the USDA. In most states, dog racing regulations are essentially concerned with gambling rules; breeding and training farm operations are virtually unregulated.
''The killing will never stop until people realize that it is the 'business' of greyhound racing which fosters and perpetuates the cruelty, no matter how hard they try to separate themselves from it. And it's just that simple. The cruelty will never end until greyhound racing is out of business." - Gary E. Dungan, Executive Director of The Humane Society of Tucson.
We need your help to eliminate the exploitation of racing greyhounds! Join us. Tell President George W. Bush that this cruel activity needs to be banned. And most importantly, don't patronize dog tracks!
Take Action: please sign this petition and visit www.greyhounds.org
Thank You!
