Greyhound Racing

[border collie]

That will be the same Royal Family who liked fox hunting, yes?

 

 

 

Stopped asap. And attacking from the edges and at the heart of it. ANYTHING to get it stopped and save all those dogs from terrible abuse.

[Kaos]

Unfortunately, I don't think Greyhound racing will ever be banned.

If Grey racing was banned - horse racing (should) be banned on the same grounds.

And, I think, while the Royal family has such a large interest in horse racing, and it is still considered the 'sport of Gentleman' that will never happen.

 

Also, I think to just terming Greyhounds in a ban would mean all we would do is 'pass the buck' to another breed.

 

 

I don't think it will be banned either...... the same goes for racing any other animal......and I don't think it has anything to do with the 'Royals', any other individual, 'family', religon, or anything else other than the greed of the human race.

 

All the time people can make money, and bolster their ego's, racing, fighting, and other kinds of abuse will continue.

 

I commented on Greys because that's what the OP asked for opinions about.

[kats n greys]

Tracks are shutting due to lack of interest, Walthemstow being the latest to announce closure

 

Hopefully the rest will follow- it won't need banning then.

[jane-f]

That will be the same Royal Family who liked fox hunting, yes?

 

 

And the hunting of foxes still go on, all except they now are shooting them

whilst on the run, often leaving them sometimes injured,

anyone can go out tomorrow, get pemersion (sp) from there local farmers, flush the foxes with a couple of dogs,

let the dogs chase them a bit then shoot them, theres nothing to say it has to be a clean kill.

the hunting ban was a c**k up plain and simple

[jane-f]

Tracks are shutting due to lack of interest, Walthemstow being the latest to announce closure

 

Hopefully the rest will follow- it won't need banning then.

 

unfortunately one shuts and another is opened,

i've already heard that theres going to be a replacement for when this shuts,

from someone who works in a bookies.

 

 

So long as theres money involved it will never die,

and to be hoist it would be better to slowly get rid of it, instead of a complete

shut down, if they was all shut down tomorrow, it would be chaos there would be hundreds an thousands

of greyhounds all with there lives hanging in the balance, trainers would want them out of the kennels (like now)

vets would be inundated with dogs that needed to be pts, some would get sold on to other countrys who still had legal tracks

or some would be given by the trainers direct to the general public, who dont have a clue how to rehabilitate a dog thats never seen the outside of a track, rescues would be over flowing and killing themselves (more than they are now) to try and find space for just one more, some trainers/owners who have quite a few dogs might look for other means to get rid of there dogs so as they dont have to pay out any more money for them.

 

over all most of these dogs would be pts without a care in the world by the owners/trainers.

 

you cant liken this to when hunting was banned - the people who hunt was given other alternatives for hunting with dogs,

like with rabbiting - its still done, so long as you've got the farmers written permoshion (sp) and only use a couple of dogs,

fox hunting still go's on so long as you only use a couple of dogs for flushing and flush to a gun,

theres nothing to say it has to be a clean kill.

[fee4]

well-maybe im an optomist.

i remember when chimps on beaches in spain were considered OK

when drinking & driving was a normal practice

when wearing a seatbelt was for cissies

when not neutering a dog was normal

when the tortoise was an average pet

when even considering buying non animal tested items made you the hippy

when organic-was followed by -whats that?

 

and im not That old.

i hope that i am seeing the death knell of greyhound racing-it may take a few more years-but i firmly believe that im my lifetime it will become a page from history

The tide is slowly turning-mostly due to the on going campaigns of a few incredibly bloody minded, stubborn and determined individuals who have encouraged others to take a stand.

it gives me hope.

 

Fee

[Nettie]

There are various people trying to get Walthamstow to carry on racing, there isn't going to be an alternative site and its highly dependent on the owners of Walthamstow.

 

Wimbledon Stadium are reducing the numbers of races and their prize money, the stadium is in financial trouble.

 

Its all good news.

 

As for the thousands of greyhounds that would need somewhere to go if racing was banned, yes it would be tragic but if it carries on the numbers of deaths will be much higher over time than if it were to stop. 10,000 retired hounds per year over a 10 year period is 100,000 and as sure as eggs is eggs they won't all be rehomed. Of course, that number is without considering the numbers of hounds/puppies that never even make it to the track, its supply and demand, no racing, no demand.

[lazyhound]

Simple from me.

 

I want greyhound racing extinct, dead as a dodo.

 

 

Couldn't agree more. When money is involved, the animals welfare normally comes second and suffers

[Kathyw]

Good - nay very good post Fee.

[jane-f]

well-maybe im an optomist.

i remember when chimps on beaches in spain were considered OK

when drinking & driving was a normal practice

when wearing a seatbelt was for cissies

when not neutering a dog was normal

when the tortoise was an average pet

when even considering buying non animal tested items made you the hippy

when organic-was followed by -whats that?

 

and im not That old.

i hope that i am seeing the death knell of greyhound racing-it may take a few more years-but i firmly believe that im my lifetime it will become a page from history

The tide is slowly turning-mostly due to the on going campaigns of a few incredibly bloody minded, stubborn and determined individuals who have encouraged others to take a stand.

it gives me hope.

 

Fee

 

But some of what you have just said still happens,

they are still campaigning to stop chimps being used on beaches, it dont happen as much as it used to - but it is still happening.

 

Drinking and driving still happens - just having one pint to me is drinking and driving,

if your driving you shouldn't have anything - simple as.

 

people are still being caught not wearing a seatbelt, back seat passengers are the worst,

and the youngsters that have just passed there test.

 

out of the 19 people that came down to the WAW chipping and neutering day on sat - most of the dog were not neutered,

about 6 people said they would have them done, a few said they wanted to breed from there dogs,

and quite a few refused neutering point blank and some took info away with them, but i doubt they will contact anyone.

 

 

people at one time thought dog fighting and c*** fighting was history - but it still go's on,

hunting was banned but it still go's on,

it will take a long time to get racing banned - in the mean time dogs are still suffering,

so why not try to work with the racing industry - education is far better, have them work with you rather than against you,

why discriminate all for the sake of some.

Edited July 28, 2008 by jane-f

[Kathyw]

Some of Fee's list were at one time not illegal- now they are.

Spanish beaches are free of chimps nowdays thanks mainly to Jim and Alison Cronin.

 

No doubt once dog racing becomes illegal there will still be racing but making anything illegal does help.

 

Ban betting and there is no reason to race the dogs because it's only for the greedy people who make money through the suffering of animals.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Kathyw

[ClazUK]

so why not try to work with the racing industry - education is far better, have them work with you rather than against you,

why discriminate all for the sake of some.

 

 

But it's NOT "for the sake of some". Let me invent a hypothetical racing greyhound owner, Joe Bloggs. He finds a reputable trainer who goes with him to an auction and together they choose a pup. The pup gets great care under the guidance of this trainer. It is one of the lucky ones cos it races, uninjured, until the age of 5. Then it goes home with Joe and lives a happy life with the Bloggs family until it dies of old age at 13.

 

Can't find fault in this? Is he a good bloke? NO!! Because he bought a pup that came from a litter of (average) 8 - where 6 of those pups die! However fantastic a life certain owners and trainers give their dogs, the industry breed at least 75% more dogs than they need (see below). The people who buy those pups create the market for them.

 

You talk about educating 'them' - no amount of education or reform will ever stop the fact that such a low ratio are good racers, the rest are wastage.

 

 

The only way to stop all the greyhound deaths is to stop racing. It's simple. About 1 in 4 bred make it to the track (that's from the industry published pups bred and the dogs racing each year stats, not ranting lefty tree hugging stats, before anyone disputes this ratio).

 

So you reduce the number bred (I include Ireland in this) from 40,000/35,000pa to the 10,000 they 'need' to serve the tracks? Only 25% of them will be any good - therefore the industry has a shortfall and 7500 dogs end up dead/needing homes.

 

You CANNOT overcome this 75% wastage however many reforms you make, because only 25% of dogs bred are deemed race worthy.

Edited July 28, 2008 by ClazUK

[Mrs Mop]

Most of us would love to see Greyhound racing end but how do we go about ending it is a big problem.

 

I remember before Freedom Foods came out for the RSPCA there was a lot against it because it didn't go far enough but their idea was to niggle at the edges enough to get to the middle. Eggs were the first, the only thing they didn't ban was the clipping of the beaks, if they had they would have had very few poultry farmers come into the scheme.

 

This was in the early 90s when the welfare of farm animals wasn't an issue, it has taken some time but gradually picked up speed and is now a big thing. There are still animals whose lives need improving, but compared to what there was, it has been successful.

 

We will never change the opinion of the hardened racers, we can and are changing the opininions of the general public. Change it enough, and racing will be banned.

[Terrier]

The only way to stop all the greyhound deaths is to stop racing. It's simple. About 1 in 4 bred make it to the track (that's from the industry published pups bred and the dogs racing each year stats, not ranting lefty tree hugging stats, before anyone disputes this ratio).

 

So you reduce the number bred (I include Ireland in this) from 40,000/35,000pa to the 10,000 they 'need' to serve the tracks? Only 25% of them will be any good - therefore the industry has a shortfall and 7500 dogs end up dead/needing homes.

 

You CANNOT overcome this 75% wastage however many reforms you make, because only 25% of dogs bred are deemed race worthy.

 

You talk about educating 'them' - no amount of education or reform will ever stop the fact that such a low ratio are good racers, the rest are wastage.

A couple of points to make here.

 

You mention industry published figures. My understanding (and one of my biggest objections to the industry) was that there were no such figures available. Where would I find this info - I'd be interested to see that.

 

Next, I'd like to challenge your assertion that no education or reform would ever stop the fact that such a low ratio are good racers. Why not?

 

(sorry - statto alert) You mention a mean average of 25% of dogs bred actually making it to the track. Are there any figures regarding the deviation?

 

To put it another way, if we get the (roughly) 2 in 8 racers every time there's a litter, then that point would stand. However - I'm again possibly highlighting my lack of understanding here - but don't we find litters where NONE make the track, whilst others have 5,6,7...?

 

The point I'm making is that if people who don't know what they are doing decide to take 2 GHs (eg the first male and female they find) and breed a few litters in the hope of finding successful ones, they are less likely to be successful in getting dogs to the track than somebody who has researched properly before finding a suitable pairing.

 

Both these breeders would be included in the stats, wouldn't they?

 

I'm pretty sure that they could do better than a 25% success rate.

[ClazUK]

http://www.apgaw.org/userimages/Report%20o...0Greyhounds.pdf - take a look at page 15 and page 16

 

This is from the Associate Paliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, obtaining stats from the English & Irish stud books and the NGRC.

 

Using 2006 as an example:

It is possible to get a fairly reliable figure for the amount of dogs bred for the NGRC

sector by consulting the Stud Book. According to the Greyhound Stud Book, 608

litters were registered in 2006 in Britain and according to the Irish Greyhound Board,

4,481 litters were registered in Ireland. Greyhound litters consist of, on average,

approximately six–seven pups suggesting that approximately 31,367 dogs were bred

in Ireland whilst 4,256 dogs were bred in Britain in 2006

 

According to the NGRC the numbers of greyhounds registered to race at NGRC

tracks are:

2006 10,101

 

According to the NGRC approximately 11,000 registered greyhounds leave NGRC

racing every year:

2006 10,945

 

Proof positive they need "around" 10,000 to serve the industry each year. Yet 35,623 pups were registered in 2006. 25,522 too many if my calculator serves me right.

 

I haven't got the time, inclination or ability (I have difficulty with basic math) to work out exact percentages, but don't forget the stats I provide here are only relative to 2006, these will fluctuate. My 25% came from other people who are far more articulate than me and can probably operate a calculator better than I can. Forgive me if it's a few percent out but we are still talking tens of thousands of dogs, here.

 

And yes, possibly a good litter might all race where a 'bad' one may not race at all. But what reforms are ever going to change that? They still breed from the Greenpark Fox line which is acknowledged to have a suceptibility to cancer - how are you going to ask them to stop breeding other lines?