Greyhounds Suffering

Posted by Admin on August 10, 2010 under Articles | 2 Comments to Read

Greyhounds are majestic looking dogs that can run up to 72 kilometres per hour (45 mph), and is therefor considered to be the fastest dog in the world. For that reason there are being held many greyhound racing events every day, especially in the UK, but also in many other countries including the US. With racing is where the problems starts. We all know that in betting there are much money in play, which means that the breeders/owners can earn big, depending on the “quality” of their dogs. The better the dogs and the more good greyhound racers they can produce, the more money they will make. The industry have been around for many years, but as more and more Internet betting sites offers greyhound betting, the problem has increased. The more betting opportunities, the more people are willing to bet.

Over breeding:

Because the dogs only have a racing career for about 18 months, the breeders need to produce large quantum’s of high quality dogs each year. This is just to meet the supply demands on the different tracks. In order to get the fastest and “genetically superior” greyhound dogs, the breeders need to breed far to many puppies. They will then see which ones are worth the effort of training them and which ones they can get rid of. Only an estimated 10 per cent will be good enough to become a great racer. What will happen to the dogs not suited for racing? The lucky ones will be sold or adopted into good homes with loving owners, some will be caged for the rest of their lives, but the faith for many of them is certain death. There is no exact answer to how many puppies are being killed every year, but in the UK marked alone there is an estimated 9912 greyhound puppies unaccounted for.

Training:

Greyhounds start training when they are 10-12 months old. The training facilities are just like on the tracks. The dogs are chasing a long mechanical drag lure with a fake bait attached to it. Some trainers are convinced that using live animals instead, such as rabbits, will make them run even faster when competing. I’m happy to say that this is occurring very seldom. Some trainers have also been caught drugging the dogs with anabolic steroids. Just like humans, this will make them stronger and run faster. At the training farms the dogs are very often locked inside a small cage for up to 18 hours a day. This will continue throughout the rest of their racing career.

Racing:

When reaching 18 months of age, the greyhounds are ready to start racing. They now need to show they are worth the expenses by getting some good results. You can say they are running for their life’s. When racing, the dogs often suffer injuries like broken legs, open soars, cardiac arrest,  paralysis and broken necks. When the dogs no longer are profitable they will either be killed, caged or adopted. Unfortunately it’s much cheaper to kill them by shooting them, hanging them, drowning them etc, then letting the vet inject them with a lethal dose. In 2003, the estimated greyhounds killed in the US alone was 5000.

Want to help?

• Greyhound adoption: Greyhounds are one of the nicest and affectionate pet one can wish for. They are pack-oriented, they don’t bark much, they are friendly to strangers and as they don’t have undercoats they are less likely to trigger people’s dog allergies. Please visit http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/ for information on how to get/rescue one.

• Don’t gamble on greyhound racing: Every time you put some money on a race, you are contributing in making the greyhound industry more popular. This is almost the same as saying that you don’t mind the dogs being abused as long as you have a chance of winning a few bucks.

• Share the information: Share this article with people you know, especially with those who are gambling on greyhounds. Just copy and paste the link and send it to their e-mail inbox using the subject “important you read this” Believe me, it works. You can also spread the word by writing on all kinds of online forum sites, writing your local paper or simply by talking to friends and family.

• Apply Pressure: The final and only solution is to get the politicians to band all greyhound racing. This is difficult to achieve as the governments gets paid from the profits of the betting industries and dog tracks. This is where we have to involve the media. Maybe you are or know someone who’s a journalist and are willing to write a piece about it.

I hope I’ve managed to open your eyes to the abuse the greyhound industry are afflicting these poor creatures, and I hope you will try to help them however you can. Even the smallest contribution helps. Please start by commenting on this article and sharing your wiews and suggestions on how we can make a difference.

Remember that not all greyhound breeder abuse their dogs. This article is about the Greyhound industry in general.

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Kind regards

Petlit Administrator