Racing Greyhounds... Cruel or not Cruel??

Question

I have no opinion on this just getting yours...

Answer 1

There is a lot of misinformation about abuse of greyhounds. They are top-class competitive athletes and are treated as such. The National Greyhound Association estimates that 95-97% of all racing greyhounds in America retire to either a stud career or an adoptive home and that number is expected to reach 100% within the next 3-5 years. Greys in racing kennels are well kept, fed top quality food and recieve the best medical treatment - just as other pro athletes do. http://www.gra-america.org/ is a link that can tell you in detail what the life of a racing greyhound is like. The people in the kennels *love* the dogs - they have to. There isn't a tremendous amount of money for them but lots of hard physical labor, 7 days a week (holidays included). http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/s... are some pictures of a birthday party in a racing kennel. The majority of people involved with racing are also involved in rehoming the retirees. Check out http://www.raceforadoption.com/ its an innovative program started in 2000 by a racing owner who put together a kennel of dogs who's earnings go directly to local adoption groups. Many more owners, trainers and kennel workers donate money, supplies and most importantly time to groups around the country. A fairly large number of tracks have long had in-house adoption programs and more donate kennel space to retirees waiting for their forever homes. http://www.pupswithoutpartners.org/Greyhound%20Article.htm is a link to a great article discussing how racing greyhounds has promoted the health and longevity of the breed (did you know that they are the only large breed of dog with 0 incidence of hip dysplasia?) as well as the positive economic impact greyhound racing has in America. http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?show... is a photo essay trailing dogs on race day - notice how happy and excited they are? Certainly not poor abused creatures.

The best way to learn about greyhound racing is to actually go to a track and meet the people who work with these wonderful dogs day in and day out. I have been to many and taken many 'newbies' who heard all the anti-racing propoganda and have never once had a person come out with anything but respect for these animals and the wonderful people who care for them. If you are interested in visiting a track and seeing 'behind the scenes' it is usually very easy to find someone to show you around. Why? Because racing people LOVE to tell the truth to people who have been misinformed by the hype. Recently in Massachusetts a ballot-initiative outlawing greyhound racing in the state was funded by Indian casinos in neighboring states who put up millions of dollars to promote the anti-racing agenda - not for the love of the dogs but because the racetracks were trying to install slot machines which would cut into the BILLIONS of dollars that MA residents spend annually at those casinos. There are a lot of sneaky, underhanded people who have successfully bad-mouthed racing. There's also a fair amount of the population who objects to all use of animals for sport, food, clothing, etc. who are more than willing to add their nonsense to the argument. Go to a track and meet the people who actually are there day in and day out. It's the only way to get the truth.

Answer 2

I consider it cruel. It's completely different than herding in Border Collies.

Greyhounds spend their lives without socialization and living in a cage. They are bred until they can no longer produce and then dumped with rescue. That's if they aren't beaten to death or shot in the head. While the breeders do take great care in selecting genetics, the whole situation is not that much better than a puppy mill.

I know that some Greyhound rescue groups say that the industry is not inherently cruel. And, I agree to a point, but I think that confining a dog to a "crate" 22 hours a day and exposing them to nothing other than the track is cruel. But, that's my personal opinion. These dogs come into rescue often being terrified of other dogs that aren't greyhounds, unaware of what simple things like stairs are, and with such a high prey drive that all animals are at risk. It's horribly sad.

As far as the ridiculous anti HSUS tirade above me, why would anyone trust someone who lobbies against preventing animal abuse? That makes them Pro abusing animals. Not exactly a trustworthy person in my book.

Answer 3

Actually racing greyhounds is fine. It's not cruel. They love to run and chase so it's part of their nature. Problems occur when a track is not designed so that accidents like electrocution don't happen. Tracks must make every effort to ensure the safety of the dogs running on their track.

The biggest problem comes in what happens when the dog cannot run? Trainers can't afford to keep dogs that don't earn money. There aren't enough homes for all the dogs to be adopted out. Further, some trainers choose the cheap way out of the situation and dump the dogs (minus ears so they cannot be traced back to the owner) or sell them to test facilities or leave them to starve. In many countries, their fate is much, much worse. This is where the cruelty comes in. For many trainers, the dogs are simply machines and when they don't run, they're tossed away to be replaced by more with no thought to the consequences for the dogs.

Often, when animals and money are in the same picture, the animals lose and the money wins.

Answer 4

I think it is cruel. While they were bred to run, I'm sure they love the racing part. But most of these racing dogs race, and that is IT! For the rest of the time they are kept in a tiny cage, never get any kind of real interaction with a human. And when their racing career is done, they just dump the dog, either euthanizing it, or killing it in a more cruel manner. That is why there are racing greyhound rescues now. And when these dogs end up in the rescue after racing, they have to learn about living in the House. They have never seen carpet, tiles, stairs. All of these things are new to them, and it startles them. They usually have to go to a foster home before going to their adopted home to get used to living indoors. I think racing greyhounds is cruel, but at least now a lot of them get to retire in a nice family setting!

Answer 5

I don't think that racing these dogs is any more cruel than using a Border Collie for herding. It's what the breed was bred for in the first place. I will admit there are probably some really bad owners out there who don't care for their dogs properly, kind of like your backyard breeders, but I think for the most part, they are well cared for. If you want your dog to win a race and bring you financial gain, is that going to happen if your dogs are poorly care for. As for what happens when the dogs retire, I think there are some really good rescue and adoption options out there. People from all over have racing dogs retired from the race.

I would hope that the right efforts are made to rehome any that are retired, and personally, I have met a ton in just the last year that were adopted/retired dogs.

Answer 6

Not cruel- Greyhound owners take care of their dogs because they have alot of incentive to keep their dogs happy and healthy(profit from winning races). Racing them is not cruel because most of them love the social interaction with the other dogs and they really love to run!!! Racing just gets a bad rap because any abuse is over publicized and used as propaganda for animal rights activists. Really so many animals are abused that never make the news ( watch those animal police shows on the Discovery channel)- I consider it to be pretty cruel to keep your dog inside all the time and let it get fat and unhealthy.

Answer 7

I am not sure whether or not it cruel or not but I do think that it is cruel to put them to sleep for no other reason than they are too old to race at ages 7 or so, they still have good years left in them as family pets but the people that own these dogs don't often think about giving them to a rescue organization that will find good and loving new homes for them to just be a pet in.

Answer 8

Cruel! I have a greyhound and luckily the former owner had the sense to put him up for adoption through an agency instead of shooting him in the head like so many do.

Answer 9

Cruel -

I have seen first hand the condition that dogs are in when they leave the track. Most dogs are missing teeth, have sores and are missing hair from parts of the body from having spent most of every day in a cage. The pictures that were posted by a previous answerer about a birthday party are probably pro-racing propaganda. In all my experience working with a rescue group, no animal has come in decent shape.

Answer 10

The sport itself (racing a dog against others) is not cruel on any basis, however the means under which this is acheived are very cruel. Examples being manipulating the dogs natural instinct to chase, alteration of the dogs diet to ascertain performance, and let us not forget the dog is a pack animal it's pack is is his or her family, once all this is taken away and the dog is used only as a tool, it's nothing other than a slave, and you have to consider how these animals are treated, if they fare well on the track they are prized, if they do bad on the track they are punished