Support Greyhounds: Protest Shoreline Star Dog Track
(from the Fairfield County Weekly):
by Mike Sembos - August 7, 2003
WWW.GREYHOUND.ORG
The Shoreline Star Dog Track in Bridgeport doesn't get
much attention these days, but a few animal rights groups would like to see
that change. The Animal Defenders of Westchester , PeTA and Friends of
Animals (who don't always see eye to eye with PeTA) will be uniting at the
track this Saturday, Aug. 9 to eliminate the abusive yet profitable races
from Connecticut, one of only 15 states in which it's still legal. As a
much-needed source revenue, it's doubtful that those in power are going to
do anything about the problem without sufficient public outcry.
According to PeTA's well- referenced fact sheet,
thousands of greyhounds are killed each year, many as puppies in the name of
"selective breeding."
Dogs that qualify to become racers are typically kept
in cages, muzzled by their trainers at all times and exposed to extreme
temperatures which the dogs' sensitive bodies are not capable of tolerating.
Some die in transport (up to 60 in a single truck) from
one racetrack to another. Countless others are slaughtered in a gruesome
array of avoidable situations. The following PeTA examples are not uncommon
in the world of greyhound racing:
� February 2000: A Florida greyhound became entangled
in and cut up by a mechanical lure during a race. Spectators were horrified
by the dying dog's screams. The dog had to be euthanized.
� April 1998: Forty-five greyhound bodies were found
dumped at a utility substation in Missouri. Some dogs' ears had been cut off
to eliminate tatoos that identify racers.
� September 1997: Of 35 malnourished greyhounds
confiscated from a breeding farm in West Virginia, 17 were too ill to save.
The dogs were being fed roadkill by their owner.
� September 1996: in Texas, 60 greyhounds from a
Florida Racetrack were found abandoned along a roadside, many unable to
walk. Others lay dead nearby.
i>The Shoreline Star Dog Track is located at 255
Kossuth St. in Bridgeport. The Animal Defenders of Westchester will join
with Friends of Animals and PeTA at the track to protest on Saturday, Aug. 9
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit
www.greyhounds.org ,
www.grey2kusa.org
or email
[email protected] for more
information
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the
copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on
the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for
in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.