WHEN IS A DOG NOT A DOG?
That's how Bev Chapman, a reporter for Kansas City's
ABC-TV affiliate, KMBC-TV, began a news report in
February that, needless to say, attracted a lot of
interest. Though it sounds like a school yard riddle, it's no joke. Two years after the Pari-
Mutuel Racing Act was passed in Kansas, the state law
prohibiting cruelty against companion animals was
changed to specifically exclude racing greyhounds
In Kansas, a greyhound is simply NOT a dog! House
Bill 2508, filed by the national greyhound protection
group GREY2K USA in the House Agricultural Committee,
is looking to change this strange anomaly.
Gary Guiccione, Executive Director of the
National Greyhound Association (NGA), calls the
argument "absurd" and says the reason greyhounds are
excluded is because they aren't bred to be pets. But
Kevin Neuman of Overland Park, who testified in
support of the bill, feels that humane laws should
apply to ALL dogs. "Protect greyhounds just like
collies or German shepherds or any other breed of dog." urges Neuman who is a long-time greyhound
rescurer and officer of GREY2K USA.
History tells us that these swift and graceful hounds are the descendents of dogs bred by
Bedouin tribes in North Africa and Asia several
thousands years ago. Images of their sleek bodies
grace Egyptian mummy cases. Greek vases and other
artifacts. The second fastest animal on earth,
greyhounds served as hunting dogs during the Renaiss-
ance and Middle Ages and were the prized companions
of royalty, Welch King Dda even made killing a
greyhound punishable by death.
After the mechanical lure was invented in
modern times, however the lives of greyhounds changed
dramatically. Dog tracks began springing up all over
the United States. The NGA was formed in Abilene,
Kansas, to promote a booming new industry. State
regulatory agencies were created to oversee and share
in the profits.
TODAY: A DECLINING INDUSTRY
Today, the once lucrative business of greyhound racing is shrinking and, happily, racetracks are closing nationwide. In fact, a total
of eight states have made greyhound racing illegal
in the last 11 years. Despite this welcome trend, 45 facilities in 14 states still remain. Annual subsidies from friendly legistors and repeated tax
breaks have provided track owners with the help
they need, temporarily insulating them from market
forces.
Christine Dorchak, Vice President of GREY2K
USA, describes greyhound tracks as "corrupt dinsaurs"
that are "only around because of longstanding
political frienships." She adds, "It's no mistake
that dog track owners are typically leading
contributors to plitical campaigns in the racing
states." Take Florida for example- in 2000 the state
awarded its dog tracks a $14 million tax cut. In 2001
, Massachusetts legislators gave area tracks a $5
million subsidy. And so on.......
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
The life of a racing greyhound isn't pretty.
Spread out across the country, breeding farms produce
tens of thousands of dogs a year. Several thousand
puppies simply disappear from record. In 2000, for
instance, the NGA, which is the registry for racing
greyhounds in North America, reported that 34,141
greyhounds were whelped as potential racers. The same
year, only 26,464 greyhounds were individually
registered to race at 14-17 months of age. The industry simply cannot explain what is happening
to all these puppies.
At the tracks, dogs are kept for 18 to 22 hours a day in tiered crates. Each crate is just large enought for a greyhound to stand or lie down. Bedding generally consists of shredded newspapersor carpet scraps. Greyhounds wear plastic or metal muzzles whenever they are outside, and are sent once every three to four days. Their diet consists of raw "4-D" meat, which has been deemed unfit for human consumption. Kennel cough, ticks, parasites and fleas are common.
There is a constant turnover and injuries are frequent. Studies performed in Massachusetts and Oregon show that up to 10 percent of Greyhounds are seriously injured while racing. Common injuries include broken legs, spinal chord seizures, cardiac arrest and sometimes, electrocution. Dogs who are no longer able to run may be sold for medical experimentation or simply abandoned.
Over 300 private rescue organizations in the United States work tirelessly to adopt out as many greyhounds as possible. Greyhound advocates like Dorchak believe will end in our lifetimes. "If we are smart, we can defeat further subsidies, prevent expanded gambling at racing facilities, and bring Greyhounds home where they rightfully belong."
Savvy legislative strategy is the prime ingredient for achieving success. A recent triumph last December 2004 was the closure of the last greyhound park in the Pacific Northwest. Multnomah Greyhound Park of Portland, Oregon, shut its doors for good in December 2004. Pennsylvania made dog racingillegal last June. Florida, the home of 16 greyhound tracks and the majority of breeding farms, its the current focus of advocacy efforts. Recently, Hollywood Park in Broward County received voter permission to install slot machines as a mean to prop up its business. Advocates are now posed to derail implementation of this scheme in the state legislature.
AROUND THE WORLD
Sadly, greyhound racing is popular in several European countries, Australia and its expanding in Asia. Reports of neglect and abuse in the "sport" worldwide are common and laws protecting animals vary widely. One notable example of abuse in the news recently is in Spain, concerning galgos-native Spanish greyhounds. Animal advocates there have received numerous reports about the shocking practise of disposing of galgo after racing season by hanging or abandoning the dogs in wells. Even though the Spanish government denies the veracity of these reports, dogs are being rescued each week and adopted into loving homes throughout Europe. Thankfully, animal activists around the world are working to help these dogs and others who have become victims of an industry more interested in profits than compassion.
DORIS DAY AND GREYHOUNDS
Doris Day's animal protection organizations first became interested in plights of these dogs long before the horrors of the industry were widely known. "Greyhound racing has been a top-down issue here for years," says Sara Amundson of DDAL, who is also a board member of GREY2K USA. Since DDAL
