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An estimated 28,000 greyhounds are killed each year as the greyhound racing business struggles to stay alive. Although only about 30 percent of the greyhounds born in the industry will ever touch a racetrack, greyhounds who do qualify to become racers at 18 months typically live in cages, some as small as three foot by three foot, for roughly 22 hours each day. Some are kept muzzled by their trainers almost constantly. Many exhibit crate and muzzle sores, and are frequently infested with internal and external parasites. Greyhounds are forced to race in extreme weather conditions from sub zero weather to temperatures reaching over 100 degrees. -PETA I heard a story froma friend of mine who is a dog trainer ( and trained our dog, Maggie). About pictures she saw of Greyhounds, the unwanted ones. She told me that when they no longer were "needed" they were stuck in a barrell. One on top of each other. There they stayed till they starved to death or were killed by the other Gryehounds tossed in on top of them. When they died they were placed in another barrell right next to the barrell of live Greyhounds. As my friend told me this story she started to tear up, she replied "there they were wanting someone to love them ,wanting so badly to get out of that barrell, little did they know, they would... but not they way they had hoped." Beyond the numbers is the very real and graphic testimony of those with first-hand knowledge of the killing, including shelter workers who have been forced to kill thousands of dogs dumped off by greyhound trainers and former industry insiders. The media has further revealed evidence of the killing through exposes on the thousands of greyhounds quietly funneled into public medical laboratories. Combined, this evidence paints a horrible dark side to this so-called "sport." Because of the recent media attention focused on the industry, the killing of greyhounds has gone even further underground. The bulk of missing greyhounds are now killed in more secretive ways — by owners/breeders on private farms, by veterinarians who profit from the industry, and by privately-owned chemical/testing companies and research facilities that are not required to make the details of their research records public. In each kennel, the dogs are let out in overcrowded, unsanitary pens. The overcrowded, stressful conditions sometimes cause these typically gentle dogs to fight, often leading to terrible wounds and death. Kennel owners often choose to leave wounds untreated to save costs, leading to the large and numerous scars seen on many adopted greyhounds. Many kennel owners self-medicate their own dogs to save costs with no oversight. As an industry standard, greyhounds are fed unsterilized meat from diseased and dying livestock that has been rejected by the USDA for human consumption. This meat is fed raw, which exposes the dogs to the drugs that were pumped into the sick livestock, as well as the infectious or contagious pathogens that ultimately killed the animals. This food is fed to racing dogs because it is the least expensive way to feed them raw meat (about 40 cents a pound). One former state veterinarian has called this food a 'pathological smorgasbord," and asserts that he was fired from a track because he spoke out about his concerns. The health hazards posed by this feed include gastro-enteritis, E. coli poisoning, a greyhound-specific illness called "Alabama Rot," and death. Racing greyhounds are often unable to race due to bad batches of this meat and suffer acute vomiting and diarrhea, known in the industry as a "blow-out." Handling this meat creates a human health risk due to potential exposure to E. coli and salmonella. Racing greyhounds race every fourth day, and are typically given little individual affection. Frightened dogs are routinely forced to run in extreme hot and cold weather conditions, sometimes causing severe injuries and even death. When a racing greyhound can no longer earn its keep (as in the case of sick and injured dogs), many owners/trainers refuse to invest any additional money in the animal - some trainers/kennel owners will fail to treat injuries, others stop feeding the dogs altogether. Some drop the dogs off to adoption groups without leaving a single cent for their care. This refusal to spend additional money on the greyhound often carries over into the type of killing chosen. Many trainers donate ex-racers to research labs because it will cost them nothing or because they will be able to make a final profit offthe dog. Numerous aging brood bitches - who have generated winnings at the track and earned their owners additional money with their litters - are given the final reward of a research lab's loading dock. For other dogs, this means a cheap and swift form of killing: a gunshot to the head on a remote dog farm far from public view.
Unfortunately, even in light of these terrible conditions and horrific occurances. Greyhound racing is STILL legal in many states.
Please write your legislators and inform them of the deplorable conditions and actions done in this "sport".
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