Is greyhound racing cruel?

I’m 40 soon and we suggested that we took my family to the dogs have a meal, have a bet etc there. Sounds like a great night out etc…

BUT, some of them (sister, mum) aren’t happy at all, sister especially saying how upset she’d be bla bla quoting she’d prefer horse racing.

Well firstly, is it cruel
Secondly, listen to them and take their points of view into consideration of sod them as its my birthday not theirs.

I’ve always politely declined office outings to the dogs for that very reason. I think it’s cruel but I don’t bang on about it when someone mentions it other than to say I have an ethical objection if they ask why I’m not going. It’s not the sport itself that’s cruel, the dogs love running, it’s the way they’re treated if they don’t prove profitable that people dislike.

Don’t see how it differs compared to horse racing TBH in terms of cruelty! Been to a few horse races where the horse has fell and had to be shot, never seen that happen at the greyhounds!

Guess that’s why I don’t go to the dogs or the horses. I mentioned this thread to my OH and she immediately sent me a cople of links as she feels very strongly about the subject.

There’s links to a programme there called ‘On the line: Cradle to grave’
which was originally shown on BBC2
greyhoundaction[/url]

the times

A friend of mine’s family, when I was growing up, bred and raced greyhounds and those dogs were treated like kings.

barry, I can’t deny that some of those dogs live very well. Some live very well while they’re winning. Some either don’t win or stop winning and don’t live very well at all and some just die horribly because they don’t win.

The amazing thing is, given the mistreadment some of them suffer, what amazing loving pets retired greyhounds make.

It is cruel in the same way as drinking milk is cruel.

Milk cows are kept loaded with food and stuff so they produce milk. Once they stop being economic milk producers they are slaughtered.

Tell your sister to stop drinking milk the barbaric cow hating bitch*!

*No offence intended 😉

WCA, you have a point about the milk, and I say that while eating muesli for breakfast, but it’s socially acceptable to slaughter cows and it’s done in a controlled manner (oh my god, can, worms everywhere!) but the dogs don’t always get the injection at the vets due to costs and can find them selves beaten and in a weighted sack at the bottom of the canal.

Lots of things are cruel, I guess it falls to each individual to decide where the line is for them. I’d guess the reason for the OP is so that CHL can make his own informed choice.

You eat Musli?!?!

All those bacon pigs being slaughtered and you don’t even eat the results?

Do you know how the grow mulsi?

I agree that the cruelty sometimes meeted out by heartless owners is awful, but there are many more that adore their dogs. Racing greyhound owners are no different than any other animal owner. Some love their animals, some simply enjoy hurting them and do not value their lives.

No more cruel than horse racing

And a great night out!

(If there wasn’t greyhound racing, what would happen to all those greyhounds?)

(If there wasn’t greyhound racing, what would happen to all those greyhounds?)

Just stick them in a bag and chuck them in the canal. Simple really

Soon people will come and tell making Foie gras is cruel

Pffff

I am afraid I take the view that there are people, and there are animals. Uuntil animals become aware that they have “animal rights” and start to complain about the infringement of them my standards for the treatment of animals are:

1) avoid wasting them;
2) avoid sadism in dealing with them;
3) avoid running out of particular sorts.

As long as there is not a world shortage of greyhounds, people like watching them race and they are not deliberately harmed for the sake of harming them then it does not seem to me to be a great problem.

A long time ago, I was going to organise a club trip to the dogs. Someone pointed out to me that it was cruel and in somewhat disbelief I researched a bit of what they were saying. After all, dogs love running and I know and I know some race dog owners who love their dogs.

I never did organise that trip and now decline any office trips to the dogs. The “industry” has done a lot to try and clean up it’s act but it’s still something I choose to avoid.

Comparing milk to just shows ignorance. There is no money in dog meat, if there was then maybe things would be different (although you would get much money for a greyhound!!) Stupid analogy.

Was out riding a few weeks ago at Delamere and the Greyhound Rescue people had a stand at the visitor centre…….. lovely dogs. I doubt it’s cruel to race them but it’s what happens to them once their racing life is over that does concern me.
I guess they need a fair bit of upkeep as a pet and are pretty niche, so you could say that racing is helping to keep the breed going.

has anyone read the links yet ????

THE RACING IS NOT THE CRUEL PART it is the treatment after they cannot run fast enough

At least 10,000 greyhounds “retire” from racing in Britain every year, at an average age of just 2½ years old [many dont find homes they are put down]…The APGAW [AssociateParliamentary Group for Animal Welfare]report also states that a minimum of 4,728 dogs are unaccounted for each year and the parliamentary group says that it can assume that the majority of these dogs are destroyed…the British greyhound racing industry has admitted that 500 – 1,000 retired greyhounds are put to death every year

I think most of us would call this cruel and certainly if I was to start doing this with my pets I think the RSPCA would get involved to stop me.

It’s pointless arguing on the internet, but I can’t let this one go by.

The problem of ‘surplus’ greyhounds is enormous. The RSPCA puts it at more than 13,000 dogs per year for England and Wales. ‘Surplus’ means won’t chase the lure, too slow. too old, basically just won’t make any money for the owner. The RSPCA puts estimates that nearly 5000 (some sources put this at nearer 10,000) of these dogs (per year) are ‘unaccounted’ for. ‘Unaccounted’ means they are disposed of without the knowledge of the greyhound ‘industry’. See the greyhound killing fields story (if they are the lucky ones), turned out on to the streets, or made to disappear.

Being involved on the fringes of a greyhound and sighthound rescue I have seen dogs with their ears cut off (to remove the tattooed registration marks) and chucked in a river with a brick round their neck. Or ears removed, and beaten to death, or ears removed and strung up in a wood, or….well you can see a pattern developing here can’t you?

Greyhounds are routinely seriously injured and destroyed at racing tracks.

If anyone has any respect or love for dogs, think twice before putting any cash in to this industry. It is based fundamentally on the cruel, unnecessary exploitation of these wonderful animals for public entertainment.

The statement ‘I guess they need a fair bit of upkeep as a pet’ is just that, a guess, and a wrong one at that. They make fabulous pets, needing a couple of short walks a day, and a hoon around off lead a few times a week, and are happy to lounge on a sofa all day. As for the industry keeping the breed going, well, I despair at that statement.