Animal Rights and Greyhound Racing

PETA Schmeeta

This has NOTHING to do with PETA and I'd appreciate any PETA talk be taken elsewhere. Thank you.

I was peripherally involved in Greyhound racing and the adoption of retired racing greyhounds for a while a few years ago. I fostered a retired racer here for about a year. As you can see, he got along quite well with our dogs.


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I learned a whole lot about pro-racing and anti-racing groups while I was involved. I will withhold my opinions on the subject for now, but wondered what you all think about dog racing and the animal rights questions that come up around it.

I will try to present a bit on both sides of the issue. There's much more information inthe links provided.

People who support racing (pro-racing groups) contend that a lot of the "culling" and euthanasia of retired racers that used to happen rarely happens anymore. The adoption groups around the nation have all but eliminated the "need" to put down racers after they're finished racing or don't do well in it. They also say that racing dogs are treated very well and are happy, healthy, productive members of doggie society.

Pro-Racing Site

The purpose of this site is to dispel the destructive myths, rumors and falsehoods being spread by people and organizations who are fanatically opposed to greyhound racing. And to give you some idea of what the racing greyhound's life is really like.

Anti-racing people and groups use two or three outdated news stories of what they consider evidence of abuse and neglect of racing greyhounds to attempt to paint the entire racing industry with a very wide brush. They wish to destroy the entire industry, based on their claims that these isolated incidents occur on a regular basis. And they fabricate claims of abuse where there is none. These stories are usually "reported" in the Greyhound Network News, the online equivalent of the Greyhound Protection League.

People who are against greyhound racing contend that the dogs are kept in less-than-desirable conditions, sometimes being underfed and without enough attention and love. They also claim that retired racers are killed by the numbers after they have performed a service for their owners and that puppies are 'culled' when they're determined not to be fit for racing. There are many horror stories.

Anti-Racing Site:
Greyhound Network News (caution: Disturbing photo)

Greyhound Network News is an eight-page newsletter published out of Phoenix, Arizona since 1992. The newsletter was founded in response to the killing field discovered in January 1992 in Chandler Heights, Arizona. More than 140 racing greyhounds had been shot to death and their ears cut off to prevent identification. Their bodies were found where they fell, strewn over 300 acres of an abandoned orchard.

GNN is an independent entity but works closely with other greyhound advocacy groups, especially the California-based Greyhound Protection League and its nationwide affiliates. In order to keep the website manageable, this online version only includes cover stories, state-by-state news updates, legislative updates, and international news, but does not include letters to the editor, feature articles, and racetrack injury reports.

Articles:
Saving Greyhounds: Is Adoption Enough?
Anti-Racing to Pro-Racing
My Life as a Greyhound Trainer
Animal Racing Facts

I'm interested to see if anyont is interested in this subject and what you think about the racing industry in general and specifically, the treatment of the animals.


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[edit on 14-3-2007 by Benevolent Heretic]

If you have EVER thought about adopting a retired greyhound, I highly recommend looking into it! They are fabulous, unique and wonderful animals! They take very little care as they would just as soon sleep on the couch all day. They make great apartment dogs and even better friends.

Find out about it!

Adopt a Greyhound

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
They make great apartment dogs and even better friends.

Adopt a Greyhound

Thank you for this thread, BH.

Greyhounds are wonderful dogs, and although they're racing dogs, they're used to being kept in small areas in the kennel, so apparently they do great make dogs for people living in small apartments in the city.

If I ever do get a dog, I will look very seriously into adopting one of these greyhounds.

I have to admit, this is the first I've thought of it, or even heard about it.

I do have a problem with one thing though. Individuals who assume that these dogs are mistreated, solely on the fact that they are racing dogs. Think about it? If these greyhounds are racing, wouldn't their be an incentive to treat them better? Maybe I am wrong. I just think that saying they must be treated bad, because they are racers, is severely misguided. I had a beautiful German Sheppard for most of my childhood. "Max" was his name. Great dog and was very assertive. Would never attack, but if he felt my family or I were in danger, he would always stand his ground. He had a rough go over his days, and due to his shear size, he was forced to live outside. We had a dog house for him, but he was chained to it. I hated it. The thought of forcing this dog to live like this was absolutely infuriating for me. After so many years he did pass on, and I felt like it was the best thing for him.

When I think of a dog, I like to think of a country barren with acres and acres of land for the old fella to run around in.

With the trend of domesticating everything these days, I feel our pets are as much of a part of our society as we are. I stand for animal rights, but I hardly see how racing dogs is strictly a basis for any comments towards their care and treatment.

Oh yeah, thank you for the little note about disturbing pictures on one of the links. I will be sure to ignore that one. Pictures of hurt dogs, cats, etc., is one thing I can not handle.

Nice thread BH. Makes me wonder sort of the same thing about police dogs, and other commercial uses of animals like farms, circuses and zoos. Some would say these animals have life pretty rosy considering what we do to chickens, cows, fish, and many other animals on a regular basis.

Originally posted by chissler
We had a dog house for him, but he was chained to it. I hated it. The thought of forcing this dog to live like this was absolutely infuriating for me. After so many years he did pass on, and I felt like it was the best thing for him.

When I think of a dog, I like to think of a country barren with acres and acres of land for the old fella to run around in.

It hurts me the exact same way. If there's one thing I can't stand is to see a dog chained up- unless it's the viscious kind.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
If there's one thing I can't stand is to see a dog chained up- unless it's the viscious kind.

I would assume that the dog is only vicious due to the fact that he/she is locked up. I treat my pets the same way I would treat my children.

Originally posted by chissler
I would assume that the dog is only vicious due to the fact that he/she is locked up.

Hmm, I wouldn't. Having grown up around many dogs myself (my mom was a breeder of shepards, dobermann's, akitas and more), there are some dogs that no matter what you do are just going to turn out viscious to anyone but, and in some cases including, their owner. I was talking more about those kind, but I hear what you're saying.

I treat my pets the same way I would treat my children.

oic. lol. aight. So you spank your dogs, ground them, deny them cookies for crapping in the house, and have to constantly worry about them getting pregnant. Thing is most children don't bite back after a good belt whoopin.

[edit on 14-3-2007 by TrueAmerican]

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
oic. lol. aight. So you spank your dogs, ground them, deny them cookies for crapping in the house, and have to constantly worry about them getting pregnant. Thing is most children don't bite back after a good belt whoopin.

No, that would be an assumption on my parenting. However, breeding with the neighbours might not be out of the question.

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lol, ok.... umm we betta get back on topic before BH shows us the viscious side of that shepard. She claims she doesn't bite, but her bark's enough to set me on edge. Personally, I hold out for the singing, as rare as it is round here. Hint friggin hint.

It is an interesting topic, one which I will admit I've never given much
thought to.

I look at it this way.
I fthe dog is being treated well, and not being overworked, I don't have
a problem with racing.
However, if it is being abused in any way, I do have a problem with it.

As for rtetired dogs, well I think that if the racer/owner is not going to
keep them and take care of them, than they should be given to an
organization that will take care of them, and give them a good home,
as well as at least 25% of the profits the dogs racing has made.

Great post,
I'm entirely new to this topic but love dogs. Based on what I've read so far and what I already believe, I see this issue as one for the morals of the owner. I don’t see how it can go much further than that. Those who use poor practices should be booted from racing indefinitely. Obviously this will be hard to measure. The concept of adopting these dogs is awesome and should be widely advertised by those racing them and those profiting from them prior to retirement.

Well, when I first took Coda (the greyhound) into my home I was fostering him after about 7 races, none of which he even placed. He ran like the wind and he loved to run, but he just wasn't fast enough.

I joined a greyhound board to find out how to take care of this monster and to have others with like interests to talk with. I soon found out that there was a great and emotional divide among greyhound folks. Anti-Racing vs Pro-Racing. And the Anti-racing folks (activists) seemed to be the ones who 'reached out' to the newcomers in an attempt to recruit members to 'their side'.

That's a warning sign right there.

The Anti-Racing folks want to make racing illegal and shut it down.

But I didn't know enough to form my OWN opinion (which is the only way I ever do it) so my research began. I scoured the web and read all that I could get my hands on. I even watched races over the internet.

All the negative information about greyhounds seemed to be at least several years old. And when I did the number crunching myself from the raw data I collected, I discovered that the numbers given out by the anti-Racing crowd were quite skewed to make it look like many more dogs were being killed than actually were.

So, after months of research, I declared myself Racing Neutral. OMG! Did the AR people hate that! They wanted me to proclaim my stance for one side or the other so they could know if I was friend or foe. Interestingly, the PR people were fine with my self-proclaimed neutrality. I continued to research and found that while there are horror stories (as with just about ANY subject) the dogs were generally healthy, happy and they LOVED to race.

Having Coda spend hour after hour on my couch made me see that the dogs don't miss getting out and frolicking in the sun all day like some dogs do. But give him a space to run and he'd take off! And then, 10 minutes later, he'd be back on the couch for his next 6-hour stint.

If you are intrigued with the breed or think you might be interested in adopting a pet that really needs a home, consider looking into a greyhound.

Greyhound Info
Adopt in Canada
Greyhound Rescue
Photo Gallery

Coda (camping):