Dog racing: yay or nay?

[gilana]

Does anyone have any unbiased resources or informed opinion on question 3, about greyhound racing? I love dogs and of course if they're actually being mistreated, I would want that to end, but each side seems to be claiming that the other side is making up their facts, so it's hard to know what to believe.

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'll be interested in hering any responses you get. I'm also on the fence on this issue and just don't have enough facts to make a decision.

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

I strongly urge both of you to vote yes on Prop. 3 (that is, to vote in support of banning dog racing). As a lifelong animal lover, I am perhaps not as unbiased as I might be, but I am also very confident that there is an abundance of evidence that greyhound racing is inhumane on any number of levels.

A good introduction to the reasons why can be found at the Humane Society's Web page on the subject (http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/running_for_their_lives_the_realities_of_greyhound_racing/), which I encourage you to read.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

I voted (absentee ballot, because I will be in Boulder on Nov 4th) to ban dog racing. My gut feeling - there is a difference between dog racing, which exploits the dogs, and horse racing, which is a partnership between horse and rider. I am sure that some dog owners who race their dogs are kind, compassionate, and take good care of their dogs. (I'm sure some abuse takes place, also.) But it does feel like exploitation to me - are the dogs pushed too hard? do they enjoy racing? what happens when their usefulness as racers has passed?