Are you a fan of greyhound racing?  Or do you want it banned? Tell us your views, vote, and leave your comments here!

Greyhound racing is illegal in Canada except maybe for Quebec so I have never seen it nor is it shown on TV.  We do have lure coursing,  JR races and Dachund races which are televised. But these are races between pet dogs.  No betting allowed and no money prizes.  The winner gets a bag of dogfood or a new coat or other such thing.  The dogs have a great day and seem to enjoy the running, but at the end of the day they go home with their owners to relax on the couch.
The greyhounds may well enjoy the run also and I have no problem with that.  I do have a HUGE problem with the industy itself and what goes on behind closed doors.  IMO it should be banned as is dog fighting.  I don't know if going underground would be a major problem.  I think it would be quite difficult to hide because of the size of track needed, unlike dog fighting which only requires a barn or basement and is easily hidden.

What is cruel is that the ones that get retired usually get retired with a bullet in the head.  The luck few go to greyhound rescue.  i know that in the US alone the ones that are killed either before they even start to race or after they don't make the winners circle is in the 10 of thousands.  The life they lead in the kennels is not the most (to say the least) pleasant either.   If you go into the greyhound rescue site and go to some of the links you will see some very horriffic pictures.

The NGRB do make a contribution to the Retired Greyhound Trust, but unfortunately its too little too late.  With hundreds and thousands of dogs being disposed of every year, there just arent enough homes for them, and to be honest theyre lucky if they make it as far as the RGT. When I was working with ex racers, there was a story in the paper about a dog being found by the motorway hanging from a tree, skinned and with it ears removed so it couldnt be identified by its markings or tattoos. This was just one of many. I personally saw dogs being left without veterinary care, raced with injuries and abandoned by their owners at the trainers kennels. These dogs are seen as a commodity, not cared about like our pets. Once they cant make their owners money any more, they are at best rehomed, and at worst shot or slaughtered in some terrible way. There are a handful of owners/trainers that do a lot of work in rescue, but the sad truth is its not enough. Even with the best of intentions they are supporting an industry which churns out dogs at such a high pace there arent enough people to pick up the pieces.

And thats just this country - you should see the way they treat Galgos in Europe - raced with broken legs or other injuries, left alone to starve to death when theyre done.

I must sing the praises of all the rescues that are doing their best to keep an escalating problem from tipping over - and here is a link to Greyhound Action (read their factsheets on what really happens in greyohund racing).
http://www.greyhoundaction.co.uk/

Hi folks, I'm new around here & this is my first post.

I have to agree with ellieangel.

The underground thing worries me.  They will take their dogs elsewhere - just like they do with dog fighting.    

I have a Whippet, & the thought of anybody forcing my furbaby onto a dog racing track just fills me ......

Korrok is right, you can't really drive grey racing underground - yes there might be a small scale problem, but nothing compared to what already happens.

 I agree, it should be banned - not sure if it will be as some people are hard to educate and as long as people attend the sport then it will no doubt continue - animal lovers eh?

Hi everyone!

Had to join after I was browsing and saw this thread!

Was about to ask how can you hide dog racing track when I saw Korrok already has!  Glad you can see what is wrong with that argument now Whippet6!  Its one that is used often within the racing circles.  Have a look at our website for more 'myths dispelled' and common arguments - it really makes you think!

What else I wanted to add was that the problem isn't as much that people don't see greyhounds as pets - although this is an issue, but even if every home who got a dog each year took on a rescue greyhound there still dwouldn't be enough homes for all the greyhounds that need them each year - too many dogs are bred... The only way to stop this is to ban greyhound racing.  Without the demand the supply wouldn't be so large therefore we would not have this problem.

The other thing to remember is that cruelty doesn't just happen when they finish racing... many dogs are drugged to run faster / slower or to block out injury pain.  One of my own was raced six weeks after breaking her hock bone - she should have had at least three months off track.  But she wasn't making money so she had to race...  She broke her leg again after that (and we have heard that her former owner drugs his dogs - Brofen is the fav) and was dumped... There are absolutely loads of other examples of why racing is cruel during their racxing career but I could go on for hours!  I daresay I'll return to this topic sooner rather than later!

I like the thinking on this thread though!