Greyhounds deserve humane treatment
(Original publication: July 28, 2004)
The Journal News
Thank you, Journal News, for covering the greyhound
adoption event held by Greyhound Friends of New Jersey (July 18).
Animal Defenders of Westchester held a protest at a dog
track in Connecticut last year; we watched them transport these beautiful
animals in tiny crates to a tawdry, litter- strewn facility, while we
educated the public about their lives.
Thousands of greyhounds are killed each year as the
declining dog-racing industry struggles to stay alive. Some puppies are
killed in the name of "selective breeding" before they ever touch a
racetrack. Dogs who do qualify to become racers, at around 14 to 17 months
of age, typically live in cages and are kept muzzled by their trainers at
all times.
According to a May 22, 2002, Associated Press story, a
former racetrack security guard in Alabama was arrested for "retiring" 3,000
unwanted greyhounds by shooting and killing them for more than 40 years. His
attorney, Buddy Bracken, stated on National Public Radio, "If there's
anybody to be indicted here, it's the industry because this is what they're
doing to these animals. The misery begins the day they're born. The misery
ends when my client gets a hold of them and puts a bullet in their head."
Few dogs make it to the nominal retirement age of 4 or
5.
Injuries and sickness claim the lives of many. Most
dogs who slow down and become unprofitable are either killed or sold to
research laboratories.
"Man's best friend" deserves better. Please don't
support this sordid, cruel "sport."
Kiley Blackman,
The writer is spokesperson, Animal Defenders of Westchester.
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