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DON'T FLAME! If anyone starts a flame war, I will not hesitate to report them to a mod immediently!

Just recently my uncle addopted a greyhound from a Greyhound Rescue place near us and I found some out some information I didn't know about this sport that truely makes me disgusted.

As most of you might know, the greyhounds run after a mechanical rabbit. Or at least, some of the time. In some places, they use real rabbits. They tie a rope around the poor things neck and it dies. Not only is the pure evil, but it's animal cruitly!

On the same thing about the places that do use mechanical rabbits.. If a dog gets infront of it and they trip, the mechanical rabbit thing will cut off one of the dogs' legs. Then the people will just leave it to bleed to death! Again, PURE EVIL.

Back when Greyhound racing started when a dog was to old to race, it's owners would just shoot it. They would KILL their dog just because they couldn't race anymore. That is one of the most evil things I've heard. You just don't do that to an animal!

And another thing that not many people would know is they make the dogs stand in small kennels, letting them out for only a few minutes every 6 hours. SIX HOURS those dogs have to stand practicly still.

When I was younger, I used to think dog racing was ok and they were treated fairly. Kind of like horses. But their not. The people that do this to those dogs are pure evil and don't understand what it means to have a heart. I think Greyhound racing should be made illegal everywhere. I hope you all think so, too.

For sport it's good but for the money it's not.

In several European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland) greyhound racing is carried out by the owners of the dogs without financial interest. This amateur form of the sport is also found in some countries, such as the United States, where professional racing exists. In these countries the dogs often live as pets.

In recent years, several state governments in the United States have passed legislation to improve the treatment of racing dogs in their juristiction. During the 1990's seven states banned live greyhound racing.[3]

In venues where greyhound racing does not involve gambling, the dogs are almost invariably pets and are, therefore, generally well treated.

Again i cite my referances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_racing

I think maybe making it illegal is a little harsh. Yes, its cruel and inhuman what they are doing, but that just means that they need to cut down on what they do. Using real rabbits is awsful, same with leaving the dog to die. As for shooting them, that also is horrible. They should just retire them.

If the races just use plastic bags, and not mecanical or real rabbits, the dogs will still chase them. Heck, my dog went after a soccer ball. O.o Grey Hounds are hyper and need alot of space to run. They may not seem like it, but they are actually very high mantenaince dogs.

The dogs were made for racing and think about it, if there are dogs that are used to racing all the time, and then suddenly just stop. It will be worse for them than the actual races.

I don't know much about Greyhound racing. I don't really want to start an argument that I know nothing about. I suppose that its more to do with money than the well-being of the dogs.

My mom told me about that, but I didn't know about the rabbit cutting their legs off.

They still kill most of them when their too old to race, but there is also a Greyhound shelter near my house. The males are $500 and the females are $475, when we move into a house with a bigger yard, we are getting one of each. If noone adopts them, they get killed, plus there one of my favorite dogs!

After the dogs are no longer able to race (generally, a greyhound's career will end by the age of three to five), owners either keep the dog for breeding or dispose of the dog.

They will sometimes kill the ex-racing greyhounds if they do not want to go through the expense of finding the dogs homes. The ratio of dogs killed to those adopted is greatly debated.

There is much debate between the racing industry and anti-racing activists about the quality of the dog's care making the exact details hard to determine.

It's not quite as bad as cropping a dog's ears and tail, but it's still a little cruel.

I don't know. I'd say not all dogs are treated like that. I Think it all is in the owner.

What's wrong with cropping a dogs years? They only cut off the skin that's not needed, plus, both ear cropping and tail docking are done mostly to hunting/fighting dogs so they don't get hurt as bad..

You say that you don't want a flame war, yet you couch your post in such pejorative language that if one disagrees with you, they feel that their intelligence has been insulted. When you start calling things that may or may not be evil, "pure evil" I think that you are inviting flames, much the same way someone would be inviting flames if they attacked something that others may have no problem with, such as rodeos or bull-fighting. Let's save the "pure evil" talk for what the Nazis did to the Jews (and everyone else too) and what is going on in the Sudan right now. You realize that perhaps, not everyone will share your sentiments that greyhound racings is inheretly bad. Perhaps I, or my father, are racing greyhound owners and you've offended me deeply by portraying us in a negative stereotype that is nothing like how we actually are or how we treat our animals. For the record, I'm not a greyhound owner, but it is totally conceivable that I could be. To sum up, maybe next time you'd like to take a more openminded stance. I'm all for people saying what they think, but there are ways to say things, where people don't get upset and don't take things the wrong way, and there are ways of saying things that invite hard feelings and anger.

In responce the subject matter of your post, I agree that killing or mistreating your pets is wrong and should be punished. However, I don't think that creating laws to outlaw greyhound racing "everywhere" would be an appropriate method for dealing with the problem. I feel that this would simply push the racing 'underground' so to speak, much like the pernicious act of dog-fighting, which is alive and well despite there being laws against it. I think that it would be a better fit for racing if there were regulations about what you have to do with your animal after its career is completed and what you are allowed to do with the animal when it is being transported for races. I think regulation, strictly enforced, would solve many of the problems you have brought up.

Okay, I'm trying to stay neutral but I have a say on each side really.

The Greyhound is a breed that loves to run, for starters therefore racing is an excellent way of excercising both their body and mind. They are natural athletes, denying them of such would surely destroy this breed. If a greyhound racer is doing it for the welfare of his/her dog, then yes, I very much agree with it.

However, there is the side where the dog is raced to death or else left on the side of the road. In that case, I hate Greyhound racing. People that do that are clearly in it for the money. However, the majority of greyhound racers today do care about their dogs and greyhounds in a Greyhound Rescue shelter have often been donated after being properly retired from racing.

As for the aspect of using a real rabbit, this is rarely done. They usually use a stuffed animal that tempts the dogs.

But in conclusion, if the dog is treated fairly and he likes what he is doing (and if it is legal) then so be it. It's not as if the Greyhounds are being forced to race such as Pit Bulls are to fight. However, for those that are in with racing for the money, I do find it unfair and cruel.

I'm done.

I don't know enough of the topic to state a well-informed opinion. But I will give my opinion based on my limited knowledge of the topic.

Some dogs have specific characteristics in their nature - ie huskys are workers and enjoy/need to work, border collies need a lot of stimulation and so sheep herding is excellent for them. I'm assuming that greyhounds need/enjoy running.

So if the races are safe (none of this cutting off their legs) and the dogs are treated in a humane fashion then no, I see nothing wrong with it.

Euthanizing a greyhound because he can't race anymore is just as terrible as euthanizing a horse because he can't race anymore. They are both pets and when you purchase one you are "stuck" with them for life.

Ha. Oh yes. Greyhounds (for some reason) need to run. That's why most addoption places for those dogs make sure you have a big yard for them to run. (or at least all the ones I've ever heard of)




Yes. I mean, what's so hard with finding a dog a home if they really don't want to keep them after they are too old to race. There are big responsiblities in having a dog-- racer or not.

Greyhounds don't need any more excersize then a "normal" dog. They're couch potatoes. However, they do love to run and as long as there not doing anything bad to the dogs to make them race then I see nothing wrong with it.

Yeah, in general, they don't need any more excercise than your average dog however they'll always be willing to run. They are natural athletes. But still, as Chasity said, they're happy to lounge around on the couch all day too.