Number of the Day

[Content Note: Animal cruelty; death.]

More than 900: The number of racing greyhound who have died on the track just since 2008, "according to what is billed as the first-ever national report on greyhound racing." The report also found that more than 11,000 dogs have been injured on the track in the same period.

The humane groups Grey2K USA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) compiled the 80-page report, and are mailing it to lawmakers in an effort to pass greyhound protection legislation and bring an end to the sport, which remains legal and operational in seven states.

"Thirty-nine states have already made the humane decision to ban greyhound racing, but this cruel sport continues to exploit greyhounds despite public outcry and overwhelming financial losses from a dying industry," Nancy Perry, senior vice president of government relations at ASPCA, said in a statement.

...Citing more than 600 sources, including state racing commission reports and records, veterinary journal articles, necropsy reports, National Greyhound Association documents, books and newspaper stories, the national report on greyhounds said at least 909 greyhound deaths have been documented. In Florida, a racing greyhound dies every three days, according to state records.

The report also documented 11,722 greyhound injuries, including fractured skulls, broken necks and electrocutions, and 27 cases of animal cruelty, including dogs starved to death and denied veterinary care.

Emphasis mine. And, because greyhound racing was made an exception to the US Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Act, the horrendous conditions in which the dogs are kept does not even qualify as animal cruelty:

In addition to the deaths, injuries and abuse, the new report said dogs are kept in "warehouse-style" kennel compounds for long hours each day in cages too low to stand fully erect. The dogs are also fed "4-D" meat from diseased animals in an effort to reduce costs, the report found.

This report is bad enough—but it also does not cover the thousands of greyhound deaths every year before the dogs even reach the track, nor the disposal of animals once they've been deemed unfit for life at the track:

Most greyhound pups are bred at breeding farms, where "only a select few actually become racing dogs. This massive over-breeding is done in order to produce winning dogs. The unwanted pups, those who don't measure up to racing standards, are simply destroyed. The racing industry also sells some of the dogs considered unfit for racing to laboratories, which use them in experiments."

Of the dogs who become racers, most aren't champions—and many would-be champions are injured before they ever reach their potential. Most of the dogs who fail to make money are destroyed in the cheapest way possible, frequently by gunshot or having their throats cut. Some are simply left to starve. Even the most successful racers are usually retired by age 4, at which point they, too, are killed unless they are fortunate enough to be rescued.

Even with rescues doing as much as they can, as many as 20,000 dogs are still killed (and nearly half that number of rabbits illegally used to train the dogs) each year in the US alone.

Greyhound racing is a despicable sport. Many of the breeders and owners claim to love their dogs, and I'm sure some of them do, but no dog that I love, not my greyhound, would ever be kept in the conditions in which racing greys are kept. And Dudley's life is not dependent on making me money, at the potential cost of his life.

This is what racing did to Dudley. And he was one of the lucky ones, because he survived.

If you live in the US, please take a moment to contact your representative and ask hir to read the ASPCA's report and take the necessary steps to eradicate greyhound racing in the United States, once and for all.