Only 55 Racing Greyhounds Died in West Virginia
Previously this blog posted that 62 racing greyhounds died according to state injury reports compiled between January 2008 and September 2009 (21 months) from Wheeling Island Racetrack & Casino; it was contested in the comments of that post as a rebuttal. Go read it; the comment was not censored.
Herein lies the difference between the pro racing camp and the anti racing camp. The pro racing camp says, “only 55 died.”
The anti racing camp is appalled when one racing greyhound dies, let alone 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, or 62.
These reports also document individual dogs that suffered fatal injuries. For example:
• On July 1, 2009 a greyhound died after being hit by the mechanical lure and suffering head trauma and seizures.
• On September 2, 2009 a dog was euthanized after suffering a spinal cord injury.
• On September 4, 2009 a greyhound was euthanized after suffering a broken leg. On the same day, another dog collapsed after a race and died.
These are just some of the ways how racing greyhounds die and not just in West Virginia. To anti racing people, this is heart wrenching and mind numbing. To you pro racing folks, it’s status quo, business as usual. That’s the difference in our DNA – to you it’s a business and to us – it’s animal abuse.
But back to the rebuttal article:
“West Virginia racing regulations do not require racetracks to report dog injuries to the Racing Commission.”
HOW’S THAT FOR STATE REGULATION?
“We have 360 performances, 15 races in each performance and eight dogs in each race. Thats 43,200 dogs in a years time that are on our track, he said.”
THAT DOESN’T MEAN 43,200 DIFFERENT DOGS WHICH WOULD MEAN SERIOUS OVERBREEDING. THE SAME ONES ARE RUNNING EVERY 4 DAYS OR SO UNTIL THEY SUSTAIN A CAREER-ENDING INJURY OR AGE JUST TIRES THEM OUT.
“In the 21-month period GREY2K studied, she said, the track raced 86,000 dogs. Only 55 died.”
86,000 RACING GREYHOUNDS IN ONE TRACK IS AN OUTRAGE AND SO IS ONE DEAD GREYHOUND MUCH LESS 55 OR 62. BUT IT’S NOT 86,000 DIFFERENT DOGS…
I READ THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 1,000 GREYHOUNDS SUPPLYING EACH TRACK AT ANY GIVEN TIME (THAT COULD BE A LOW NUMBER), AND PROBABLY ANOTHER 500 TO 1,000 WAITING IN THE WINGS.
THAT WOULD MEAN THE PERCENTAGE OF INJURIES AND DEATHS GOES UP. 55 OR 62 DYING OUT OF 86,000 SOUNDS LIKE THE ODDS ARE IN THE PRO RACING CAMP’S FAVOR (BUT STILL A HOLOCAUST TO THE REST OF US).
BUT IN REALITY — IT SOUNDS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IF SOMEONE THINKS ABOUT 55 OR 62 DOGS DYING OUT OF A POOL OF MAYBE 2,000 OR 3,000. AND IT’S STILL MORE THAN ONE PER WEEK.
“And of those dogs that do incur an injury, 50 to 60 percent come right back and continue to race.”
ANOTHER OUTRAGE, HOW MANY OF THOSE 50 TO 60 PERCENT CONTINUE TO RACE TO THEIR DEATH?
AND SINCE THERE’S NO STATE REGULATION: HOW DO WE KNOW THE FIGURES BEING DISCUSSED ARE ALL OF THE INJURIES AND DEATHS THAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED AT THAT TRACK?