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Nowhere
to Run: Dog Racing In Decline
By Joan Eidinger
Reprinted from Animals' Agenda, September/October 2000
For
the first time in the 75-year history of greyhound racing
in America, the future of the pastime will be decided by the
number of citizens who flock to the polls rather than the
betting booth. If voters approve an upcoming ballot initiative
in Massachusetts, the state--which has two greyhound tracks--will
become the first to ban greyhound racing by such a referendum.
It will also fulfill the mission of GREY2K (Greyhound Racing
Ends Year 2000), a grassroots group consisting of more than
1,000 animal welfare advocates throughout Massachusetts that
began organizing in 1999 after it appeared that a third legislative
attempt to ban dog racing would fail.
GREY2K
collected 150,000 signatures to place the proposition on the
November 2000 ballot. If it passes, Massachusetts will follow
seven other states (Maine, Virginia, Vermont, Idaho, Washington,
Nevada and North Carolina) that have banned live dog racing
and/or simulcasting using the legislative process. Ballot
initiatives like the one in Massachusetts allow the voters
to pass a statute or constitutional amendment directly, without
involving the legislature.
The
first commercial greyhound racetrack opened in St. Petersburg,
Florida, in 1925. It was quickly followed by the Biscayne
Kennel Club in Miami in 1926, and in the next decade eight
more tracks opened in Florida. By 1960, 28 greyhound tracks
were operating in seven states. By 1990, 19 states had legalized
pari-mutuel wagering, and the number of racetracks had doubled
to 56. This rapid expansion fueled a breeding frenzy to supply
them. In the 1980s alone, an estimated 450,000 racing greyhounds
were born.
In less than a century, the greyhound--revered for millennia
by pharaohs and kings--had been reduced to an easily replaceable
object upon which to place a bet. The greyhound's speed and
agility had doomed the breed to servitude under a human subculture
whose only interest was gambling profits.
Maine
banned dog racing in 1993, followed by Virginia and Vermont
in 1995, Idaho and Washington in 1996, and Nevada in 1997.
Greyhound racing never existed in Maine, Virginia or Washington;
the legislation was a proactive move to prevent any attempt
by the industry to expand into new territory. Nevada had a
brief courtship with dog racing when the Las Vegas Downs track
opened in Henderson in January 1981, but it closed 11 months
later. North Carolina, which outlawed dog racing in the 1950s,
updated its gambling laws in 1998 and banned the televised
transmission (simulcasting) of dog races into the state.
Vermont
and Idaho, however, each had a long and infamous history of
dog racing marked by allegations of abuse and atrocities.
Media exposure by the Bennington Free Press in 1992 and The
Spokesman Review in 1992 and 1995 eventually led to the closure
of the Green Mountain track in Pownal, Vermont, and the Coeur
d'Alene track in Post Falls, Idaho.
Dog
Race About-Face
Greyhound
racing was an accepted, state-sanctioned spectacle in this
country for 60 years before the general public had any idea
of the horrors taking place behind the scenes. In the mid-1980s,
information began to surface in the mainstream media about
the grim fate of racing greyhounds and the slaughter of tens
of thousands of other small animals in the training process.
A
racing greyhound's welfare at each stage of life is largely
dependent on the dog's ability to generate money. Greyhounds
typically begin racing at the age of 18 months. To qualify
at an official track, the dogs must finish in the top four
in two schooling races. If successful, the dogs enter maiden
races. As they win, the dogs advance up through grade D, C,
B, and finally grade A, as they finish in first, second or
third place in three consecutive races. Alternately, as they
begin losing, they decline in grades using the same criteria
in reverse. By failing in grade D, the lowest grade, a dog
is considered "graded-off," and may be sent to a
less competitive track. Once a dog has graded-off at an end-of-the-line
track, he or she is either killed, kept for breeding, or turned
over for adoption.
Each
track requires approximately 15 kennels to keep an adequate
supply of dogs. Each of these privately owned kennels maintains
an average of 50-60 dogs. Kennel operators typically lease
the dogs from their owners in return for 65 percent of the
dogs' winnings. Dog owners are often people who invest in
greyhounds as a sideline business or hobby, and may never
actually see the dogs. In other cases--usually large farms
of 600 dogs or more--the dogs are bred, trained and raced
by the owner.
In
13 of the 15 racing states, the dogs are housed at a kennel
compound on the racetrack grounds. They are often kept muzzled
in stacked metal cages or wooden crates for 20 or more hours
a day. Bedding is shredded newspaper or small carpet remnants;
flea and tick infestation is common. The typical diet is raw
"4-D" meat (taken from diseased, dying, downed or
dead livestock).
At
about six months of age, greyhound puppies are sent to training
farms where they race around a track in pursuit of a lure.
To encourage this behavior, trainers traditionally used "live
lures"--rabbits, cats, and other small animals--tied
to the lure mechanism. The dogs are encouraged to shred the
animals to build a taste for blood and instill the instinct
of running after the fake lure at the track.
This
training method was well chronicled by The Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS) in several undercover investigations
in the 1980s. HSUS estimated that more than 100,000 small
animals were killed every year to train racing dogs. Today,
the industry insists that most greyhounds are trained with
mechanical lures and that only about 10 percent of trainers
still use live lures.
Greyhounds
are at risk throughout their racing lives. Many die because
of hazardous kennel or track conditions, negligent handling
during transport, preventable diseases due to a lack of basic
veterinary care, and epidemic outbreaks of highly contagious
illnesses.
Despite
industry claims that allegations of abuse are outdated and
therefore no longer valid, horrific stories continue to surface
at an alarming rate. At Alabama's Birmingham Race Course on
June 21, 2000, the lure operator failed to stop the lure when
the race ended and Randad, a 2-year-old male, became trapped
inside the rail. Investigators concluded the greyhound was
dead before the returning mechanical lure struck him. In Massachusetts,
87 greyhounds burned to death on Valentine's Day 1992 at the
Lynn Kennel Compound, a 50-year-old facility that houses 1,600
dogs in 28 wooden buildings for the Wonderland track in Revere.
Eight more greyhounds perished there in another fire in June
1999. Nearly 100 greyhounds nationwide died of complications
from kennel cough in two large outbreaks in the last decade;
a 1999 epidemic affecting 5,000 dogs placed every track in
the country under quarantine for weeks. A condition later
identified as canine streptococcal toxic syndrome killed 24
dogs in Florida, Kansas, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. The
afflicted dogs developed fevers of 107 degrees, hemorrhaged
nasally, rectally, and from their urinary tracts, and died
within 24 hours.
Disposable
Dogs
Racing
greyhounds are the disposable commodities of a gambling industry.
Despite nationwide rescue efforts and a decline in the number
of greyhounds bred, it is estimated that 20,000-25,000 greyhounds
are still being killed annually. Animal advocates conservatively
estimate that this "sport" has claimed the lives
of more than 1 million greyhounds in its 75-year U.S. history.
Any
greyhound bred to race on an official racetrack must be registered
with the National Greyhound Association (NGA) at the age of
3 months and again at 18 months. According to industry breeding
reports published in The Greyhound Review, 65,601 litters
were registered by the NGA between 1989 and 1998. Multiplying
these litters by an average of 6.5 pups per litter results
in a minimum total of 426,407 greyhounds born this period.
By comparing the number of dogs registered by litter at age
3 months against the number of dogs registered individually
at 18 months, the attrition rate for puppies and young dogs
averaged nearly 20 percent, or 84,385 greyhounds culled from
the system in one decade. According to industry insiders,
unwanted puppies are disposed of by drowning in a bucket of
water or by deliberate separation from nursing mothers.
An
analysis by the Greyhound Protection League and Greyhound
Network News (GNN) of the published numbers of dogs who are
still racing, on breeding or training farms, and those who
have been adopted indicates that more than 200,000 greyhounds
have disappeared from the record in this 10-year period.
Puppies
and young dogs deemed unsuitable for racing, and older dogs
graded-off from the racetrack when they can no longer "run
for the money," are disposed of by various means, including
euthanasia, gunshot, starvation, bludgeoning, electrocution,
and abandonment. They also are sold or donated to medical
research laboratories, sold to coyote and rabbit hunters and
amateur "match" racers, and sold to racing interests
in other countries.
In
1999, approximately 27,000 greyhounds entered the racing system,
but greyhound advocates estimate that an equal, if not greater,
number also exited the system. While approximately 12,000
graded-off dogs found safety in adoption programs, at least
7,170 puppies and young dogs did not survive to the age of
18 months. Adding the 13,000 grade-off who were not rescued
to the number of young dogs who died, advocates estimate that
a minimum of 20,170 racing greyhounds were killed in 1999.
This number does not include an untold number of old dogs
(brood bitches and stud dogs) killed after they were no longer
productive as breeding stock.
According
to a November 1996 Pensacola News Journal article, 600-800
greyhounds at the Pensacola Greyhound Track are euthanized
every year and dumped in the Perdido Landfill. "It's
not wonderful what I do, but as long as greyhound racing is
legal, we need to be sure that when these animals are disposed
of, it's done in the most compassionate way possible,"
said Andy Hillman, veterinarian at the 54-year-old Florida
track. In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from 1987 to 1992, more
than 1,200 racing dogs were euthanized at a local shelter.
Also in 1992 in Chandler Heights, Arizona, the decomposing
bodies of 143 racing greyhounds were discovered in an abandoned
citrus orchard 30 miles southeast of Phoenix. Each dog had
been shot in the right temple with a .22-caliber pistol, and
their tattooed left ears had been cut off to prevent identification.
Other
killing methods are more crude and protracted. Two hundred
racing greyhounds were found starving to death on an Ocala,
Florida, farm in November 1991. According to an eyewitness,
the five-acre property was littered with shallow graves and
burial pits. Of the 101 greyhounds found in 1990 starving
at a private kennel that served the Tucson Greyhound Park
in Arizona, only 40 survived.
In
1991 a trainer at the Coeur d'Alene track in Idaho described
the electrocution of greyhounds using a device called the
"Tijuana hot plate," so called because "in
Mexico they used to electrocute their dogs." It consisted
of a metal rod that was placed in the dog's rectum, plus a
metal clip that was attached to the dog's lip; electrocution
resulted when the device was plugged into a wall outlet. According
to the trainer, the killings took place in a "party-like"
atmosphere.
Some
dogs who manage to survive the racing industry face additional
exploitation at the hands of the vivisection industry. For
decades both public and private medical research facilities
have been the end of the line for an incalculable number of
racing greyhounds. Twenty years ago the New England Anti-Vivisection
Society reported that more than 2,000 "retired"
racing dogs flowed into Massachusetts research institutions
each year. More recently, activists using the federal Freedom
of Information Action (FOIA) and state open records laws have
discovered that the flow of racing dogs into research labs
has continued unabated.
The
first publicly exposed case of greyhounds used in research
came to light in 1989 and involved more than 600 greyhounds
collected over a one-year period from Arizona dog farms and
racetracks. The greyhounds, obtained by two Class B animal
dealers with close ties to the racing industry, were sold
to public and private research facilities in California and
Arizona.
Susan
Netboy, who later founded the Greyhound Protection League
(GPL), a national greyhound advocacy organization, received
information from In Defense of Animals (IDA) that 20 greyhounds
had been sold to the Letterman Army Institute of Research
(LAIR) in San Francisco. The dogs were to be used for bone-breaking
experiments in a pilot study that would have ultimately involved
hundreds of greyhounds had it continued. After tracing the
dogs' tattoo numbers and working with IDA's president, Elliot
Katz, D.V.M., Netboy filed a lawsuit against the Army, proving
that the dogs were sold without the permission of their legal
owners. Eventually all 19 of the surviving dogs were rescued.
After obtaining the release of the LAIR greyhounds, Netboy
made a FOIA request; she later received dealer records on
more than 600 greyhounds sold by the two Arizona dog dealers.
Four hundred of the dogs had been sold to W. L. Gore Industries,
a private research facility in Flagstaff, Arizona. Despite
a lengthy battle, none of the Gore dogs were saved. Shortly
thereafter, the NGA extended registration privileges to Gore
as an officially recognized kennel, thus providing the legal
loophole for continued use of greyhounds at the facility.
Other
southwestern facilities that bought dogs from the Arizona
dealers included the University of California at Los Angeles,
Davis, and San Diego; Cedars Sinai Hospital; the University
of the Pacific; Humana Hospital; St. Joseph's Hospital (Phoenix);
and Harrington Arthritis Research Center. By the time Netboy's
FOIA request was honored, most of the dogs were already dead;
only 24 were rescued. Pursuit of such cases was predicated
on owner consent issues. Because racing greyhounds are tattooed,
and thereby traceable, they present a unique opportunity for
animal advocates to establish that the dogs are frequently
obtained from unscrupulous trainers and sold by Class B dealers
without the knowledge or consent of their legal owners. Owners
who check on the status of a dog may be told that the dog
either was adopted or was injured and euthanized.
One
of the most shocking research cases came to light two years
ago. Documents obtained under a public records request sent
to Colorado State University (CSU) by GNN in March 1998 revealed
that 2,652 racing greyhounds had been euthanized at CSU's
School of Veterinary Medicine between January 1995 and March
1998. The 320 pages of acquisition sheets listed dogs who
ranged in age from puppies to 10-year-olds; nearly half were
2-year-olds. Approximately one third of the dogs were anesthetized
and used to teach surgical procedures before being destroyed.
Two thirds of the greyhounds donated to the school were considered
"excess" and were euthanized immediately after arrival.
A
Denver Rocky Mountain News investigation revealed that CSU
had a decade-long relationship with the state's greyhound
breeders. CSU collected many of the dogs from the track kennels
and state dog farms, processed them, and disposed of the carcasses.
Many of the greyhounds were delivered to CSU personally by
their owners, often as many as 17 at a time.
In
all, 70 individuals, including greyhound breeders, kennel
operators, and trainers, appeared on the pages of CSU's acquisition
records. Among them were some of the racing industry's most
celebrated kennel owners, one of whom was recently honored
by the NGA and had personally donated 320 greyhounds to CSU.
When
the story broke in June 1998, James Voss, dean of the CSU
vet school, defended the university's alliance with the racing
industry, telling the News that the dogs being used would
"likely die anyway, but by clubbing, shooting or other
inhumane methods." But public outcry forced CSU to sever
its racing ties. Basic anatomy is now taught using interactive
CD-ROM software, and students get hands-on surgical experience
by spaying and neutering shelter animals under the supervision
of a staff veterinarian.
But
in a new low even for the racing industry, the latest greyhounds-in-research
case involves a racing kennel owner who operates an adoption
service and also holds a Class B dealer license. Until recently,
NGA member Daniel Shonka operated a racing kennel at the St.
Croix Meadows track in Hudson, Wisconsin, and operated Greyhound
Adoption of Iowa from his residence in Cedar Rapids. Shonka
is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
the Wisconsin Division of Gaming, and the Wisconsin Division
of Criminal Investigation for allegedly obtaining greyhounds
from unsuspecting owners who believed their dogs were being
adopted, and then selling them for $400-$500 each to a private
research lab. State gaming officials estimate Shonka's dealings
netted him at least $500,000 in three years.
Most
of the dogs were sold to Guidant Corp.'s Rhythm Management
Group, a cardiac research lab in St. Paul, Minnesota. As of
June 20, 2000, the USDA and the gaming division had traced
1,086 greyhounds on Guidant's records directly to Shonka.
All but 108 greyhounds died at the lab, and Guidant agreed
to reverse the surgical procedure on the remaining dogs and
release them for adoption.
The
resolution of this case is atypical, however. Throughout the
past decade, activists have repeatedly brought the greyhound
acquisition issue to the attention of the USDA, but the agency
has refused to take any significant action that would redress
this ongoing tragedy.
Other
state universities have received a total of more than 1,000
greyhounds donated by their legal owners in recent years.
The dogs have ended up at Arizona State University, the University
of Arizona, Mississippi State University, Auburn University,
Iowa State University, and Kansas State University.
The
Adoption Angle
Once
the systemic abuse of the greyhounds became known in the mid-1980s,
the racing industry was forced into a defensive position that
encouraged adoption and discouraged the use of live lures.
Part of the public relations makeover included the formation
of the American Greyhound Council in 1987 to "provide
for the welfare of the racing greyhound and the betterment
of the greyhound industry." It provides funding for a
toll-free adoption inquiry number for the industry-controlled
Greyhound Pets of America (GPA), a national adoption group,
and provides yearly stipends to GPA chapters and track adoption
programs. However, only those groups that promote a positive
image of greyhound racing are eligible for financial assistance.
The industry continues to spend more money on public relations
and lobbyists than it does on the rescue and adoption of greyhounds.
It
was during this time that the fledgling greyhound adoption
movement began with a handful of individuals in Florida and
Massachusetts. Since then, more than 150 privately funded
independent rescue and adoption groups have formed. These
groups are responsible for placing the majority of an estimated
12,000-13,000 discarded greyhounds into adoptive homes annually.
Greyhounds lucky enough to reach the safety net of an adoption
program typically arrive underweight, covered with ticks and
fleas, and riddled with internal parasites. Many have pressure
sores on their hips and shoulders caused by long confinement
in small crates, and broken legs that have been left untreated
for weeks.
Ironically,
it will be the adoption movement that will ultimately bring
about dog racing's demise. The adoption of tens of thousands
of greyhounds in the last 15 years has turned thousands of
animal lovers into greyhound welfare advocates, many of whom
have become politically active in the battle to end dog racing.
Docile and loving dogs, greyhounds have been their own best
ambassadors. Just ten years ago, an adopter walking a greyhound
often heard such comments as, "I bet I lost money on
that dog." Today, greyhound guardians are more likely
to be asked, "Is that one of those abused greyhounds?"
An
Industry on Its Last Legs
It's
not just the image of greyhound racing but also the very nature
of the business itself that has changed dramatically in the
last decade. The industry peaked in 1991 with a wagering handle
(total amount of money bet on races) of $3.4 billion, making
it the sixth most popular spectator sport. By 1995, attendance
had dropped 25 percent and the total handle had dropped 26
percent to $2.5 billion. Attendance and handle continue to
drop steadily with each passing year.
The
dog racing industry currently holds less than a 1 percent
share of the entire $54.3 billion annual U.S. gambling market.
After payouts (more than 80 percent of the handle is returned
to the public as winnings), the industry netted approximately
$493.7 million in 1998. Its dramatic decline is due largely
to competition from the rapidly expanding casino gambling
industry. In a February 27, 2000, Washington Post article,
Andrew Beyer noted that dog racing has lost much of its customer
base to other forms of gambling, adding, "Never again
will this industry be able to stand on its own."
State
revenue from dog racing has also dropped significantly. Florida,
widely believed to be the last bastion of dog racing with
17 racetracks, has seen its pari-mutuel tax revenue drop 71
percent, from $100 million in 1990 to $28.7 million in 1998.
In May 2000, Florida lawmakers approved a $20 million tax
break for the state's pari-mutuel industry, which includes
horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons; $14 million will
be used to bail out the dog tracks.
In
1994 the Arizona legislature approved a $6 million tax break
for the state's three ailing racetracks. As a result, Tucson
Greyhound Park has paid no pari-mutuel taxes to the state
since mid-1995, despite annual gross simulcast earnings of
about $5 million. Taxpayers are now subsidizing the existence
of this end-of-the-line track.
Other
states have also closed since 1990, and 49 privately owned
racetracks continue to operate in 15 states, although many
of them are awash in red ink. The exceptions are the five
tracks in Iowa, West Virginia, and Rhode Island, where state
lawmakers, pressured by racetrack lobbyists, amended their
gambling statutes and allowed the tracks to operate either
slot machines or video lottery terminals.
Casinos
have become the racing dogs' best allies. A casino operating
within 100 miles of a dog track will eventually pull the plug
on that track; conversely, allowing dog tracks to morph into
casinos will keep those tracks on life support for the foreseeable
future.
But
the sun began to set on the greyhound industry nearly 10 years
ago. GREY2K's ballot initiative in Massachusetts is a rallying
cry for animal activists nationwide to help hasten the end
of decades of horrendous cruelty and the wanton slaughter
of greyhounds for a gambling industry.
Joan
Eidinger is the editor and publisher of Greyhound
Network News.
Susan
Netboy, director of the Greyhound Protection League, Laurel
Williams, GPL's Massachusetts representative, and Melani Nardone,
GPL's Connecticut representative, also contributed to this
article.
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