Thinking of having some fun with awesome animals this weekend? If you're thinking of heading to the track to bet on a racing animal, you may want to think again. Here's some facts about Greyhound racing that might surprise you.
What They Say:
The Greyhound Racing Association of America claims that Greyhound racing is "the cleanest sport in America" I'm not quite sure what sports they have been comparing this cruelty to!Even on their own website, they admit that many of the Greyhounds bred for racing are destroyed before they make it to adulthood, and that the ones that do make it live out their lives in kennels at tracks instead of getting to have the experience of being someone's pet.
GRAA seems to think that the dogs enjoy racing and that it's okay that they lose a dog to injuries every now and then. They claim that it's all humane and for the good of the breed (GRAA 2011).
What Really Goes Down:
According to researchers from the ASPCA and nonprofit Grey2kUSA, conditions for these animals are incredibly grim. Feel free to check out the sources below to read their research that I will be summarizing, but be warned; they have photographs all of this. I would hope that conditions for Greyhounds are improving to this day, but before you shrug this off as an old problem, consider that these studies were done in 2011.A Young Greyhound:
The ASPCA warns those who might be interested in going to a dog race that a racing Greyhound begins its life on a Greyhound breeding farm, which is not unlike a puppy mill. At these facilities, the ASPCA goes on to describe, thousands of pups are born a year, of which only a few ever become racers. The rest are destroyed or sold to laboratories as test animals. A pup making it to training is no guarantee of a long life. If a pup makes it to training and does not measure up, or is somehow injured, it is also destroyed (ASPCA 2011).According to Grey2kUSA, a Greyhound pup that survives to become a racer can look forward to a life in a kennel at the racing facility. Investigators representing Grey2KUSA cite case studies from December 2011, where they found Greyhounds stored in warehouse-like conditions, living in stacked cages for 23 hours a day with nothing but shredded bits of carpet and newspaper to sleep on, in their condemning report of the sport. Some of these cages, they describe, are as small as three by three feet. The study goes on to posit that this is why many former racing Greyhounds have difficulty transitioning to home life with an adoptive family. They often exhibit issues such as bumping their heads into sliding glass doors, or trying to walk on swimming pools, as in their life they have rarely seen a surface that isn't paved, or a door that isn't chain. Some Greyhounds come to adoptive homes afraid of grass, as, because of the conditions they grew up in, they have no idea what it is (Grey2kUSA 2011).
Don't want to participate in this cruelty? Don't give your hard earned money to anywhere that races Greyhounds or other animals. It's as easy as that.
Since this is a topic very dear to my heart, next week I will cover:
Deplorable Standards of Inadequate Care
What The Law and You Can Do
In the meantime, check out the sources I referenced in this post:
ASPCA. (2011). Greyhound Racing FAQ. ASPCA. Retrieved from http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-
cruelty/greyhound-racing.faq.apsx
Grey2kUSA. (2011). Grey2kusa.org. In Grey 2k USA. Retrieved from http://www.grey2kusa.org
/pdf/FLreport.pdf
GRAA. (2011). Greyhound Racing Association of America homepage. Greyhound Racing Association of
America. Retrieved from http://www.gra-america.org/
I had no idea that the conditions were so bad for greyhounds! As a vegetarian and animal advocate myself, I definitely avoid any kind of animal-based entertainment. Have you done any research on circus animals? From what I understand, they are in a similar boat. It'd be interesting to see a post on that!
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