23 Greyhounds Found Dead at Race Track

[Rhino]

23 Greyhounds Found Dead, 'Experienced Prolonged Suffering' at Alabama Race Track

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

SHORTER, Ala. — Autopsies have been ordered on 23 greyhounds that were found dead at the VictoryLand dog track and the state agriculture commission is investigating, officials said.

Five of the dogs were sent to a lab at Auburn University, and the other 18 were sent to Tuskegee University for autopsies Friday.

The cause of their deaths was believed to be a heating malfunction in one of the track's kennels....

...."Whatever the cause of death, the dead and injured dogs experienced prolonged suffering before there was any manner of human intervention," Netboy said in a statement.....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243889,00.html

[DoctorDoom]

The treatment of Greyhounds is abominable.

In the United States, betters wager billions of dollars on dog races every year. Dog racing is illegal in 34 states but continues in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa,Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. (1) However, the laws prohibiting racing are largely ineffectual, because federal law does not prohibit the interstate shipment of greyhounds used in racing. Therefore one state may ban the breeding of dogs used for racing, but dog handlers in another state can breed the same dogs and ship them across state lines.

The greyhound racing industry breeds approximately 30,000 puppies each year. Of these animals, only 15,000 actually become racing dogs. The rest are "retired," used as breeding stock, or, in a more likely scenario, shot and destroyed. "Unusable" greyhounds--those that are unfit for racing--have been disposed of in some of the worst ways imaginable-shot to death or starved to death. One greyhound was found buried alive with an ear cut off to prevent identification. (2) The racing industry also sells thousands of dogs considered unfit for racing to laboratories, which experiment on animals. Thus, greyhound racing functions not only as a "sport" and gambling enterprise, but as a breeding facility for cruel vivisection practices.

Dogs that become racing animals do not live less cruel lives. They spend 18-22 hours a day in cages and are kept muzzled at all times. Injuries such as tissue injuries and bone fractures are common during greyhound races. Some dogs have experienced spinal injuries, seizures, and death from cardiac arrest.Greyhound racing (http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/sport.html)

It's a brutal, inhuman "sport" on a par with dog-fighting and bullfighting. Ban it.

[DeclinetoState]

More information at the Humane Society of the U.S. (http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/running_for_their_lives_the_realities_of_greyhound _racing/greyhound_racing_facts.html)

Wikipedia article on Greyhound racing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_racing).

American Greyhound Council (http://www.agcouncil.com/), a pro-greyhound-racing organization.

[DoctorDoom]

At our local Petco, a Greyhound adoption agency that visits several times per year. Apparently it's fairly successful.

[Lubbock]

I've always wanted to adopt a Greyhound. Everyone says they make the best pets.

I just don't have the type of home/yard, nor the time and energy that should be devoted to a dog. Any dog.

Cats are easier for me right now.

If I ever get the grandkids raised and out from underfoot, maybe I can think about a dog then. Provided I'm still breathing.

[DeclinetoState]

When I first heard about greyhound racing, I thought they were talking about buses . . .