West Virginia Still Allows Cruel Greyhound Racing – Sign Petition to Stop This!

Greyhounds are the fastest of all dog breeds, and they have a strong instinct to chase. So they must love racing, right? Wrong. While they do enjoy running, as most dogs do, they also crave love and affection, cuddles with both humans and other dogs, and nice, comfortable places to sit and rest – just like other dog breeds. But nothing of that sort is afforded to greyhounds caught up in racing.

In fact, the so-called “sport” of greyhound racing, which is much better described as an ironically unprofitable for-profit industry than any kind of amusement or sport, provides these dogs with the utter and complete opposite to all of that. Greyhounds kept for racing are heavily exploited and treated as commodities, rather than living, feeling beings, and cruelty and neglect are common in this field.

Injuries on the track are frequent, as many dogs suffer leg fractures, head trauma, cardiac arrest, and even paralysis, and dozens die every year during races.

But the rampant carelessness with which they are treated is perhaps most obvious off the track. Racing greyhounds often become wounded while being transported between tracks, as well. When not training or racing, they are typically kept muzzled, separated and alone for up to 20 hours a day in small, barren cages that don’t even allow them to stand, let alone get anything close to comfortable. Their kennels usually receive little heat in the cold, nor air conditioning when it’s sweltering, despite the fact that these dogs are highly sensitive to temperature changes due to their thin coats and lack of body fat.

And, once they start losing or become unprofitable for their greedy owners, the real torture begins. Dogs who are no longer needed are heartlessly abandoned or killed well before their time. Many don’t even live to see their fifth birthdays.

It’s worth pointing out that other animals are regularly tortured by this industry, as well. Opossums, rabbits, piglets – even kittens – are used as live bait and tied to lures to be chased and mauled by dogs in training.

In fact, so sickly cruel is this “sport” that it has already been banned or dismantled in 40 U.S. states, including Colorado, Texas, and Arizona in recent years.

Now it’s time for West Virginia to follow suit, and almost everything is in place to make that a reality. The West Virginia House and Senate each recently approved a measure (SB 437) that would effectively defund and phase out this industry. According to a petition on Care2, the goal is to discontinue the West Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, repeal $15 million in annual subsidies, and create a $1 million adoption trust for the dogs waiting to be retired from this cold-hearted “sport.” All we need now is for the state’s governor to sign the bill into law. Please join us in urging him to do so today by signing this petition on Care2.

Image source: Klaus Hertz-Ladiges/Shutterstock