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Racing To The End
By Sandra Rees-Bowen

“...any greyhound used for greyhound racing which is to be put to death [is] to be put to death by lethal injection.” Bill HB37 (Alabama), passed June 16, 2003.

Harshly clinical as this may sound, this law was passed on humanitarian grounds, as an attempt to stop the trend of the brutal killing of greyhounds who have outlived their racing usefulness, been injured or displayed a definite lack of racing talent.

In May of 2002, The New York Times ran a story about an individual who had been disposing unwanted greyhounds for 40 years. According to the Associated Press, “State officials obtained a warrant...to search 18 acres...after receiving a tip and looking at satellite images that showed animals' bones strewn about the property.”

The story was also picked up by Brett Norman of the Pensacola News Journal who wrote, “The investigation began in early May when Pensacola Greyhound Track Racing Director Albert Kelson caught wind of a rumor that dogs were being slaughtered in Lillian.”

Approximately 3000 greyhound remains were found on the property of a former racetrack security guard. Investigators believed that not all dogs died instantly, but suffered terribly before they died.

The four individuals who were charged with the deaths of the greyhounds were brought up on criminal charges and face a maximum of ten years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Senate Representative James Buskey of Alabama introduced Bill HB37 on February 25, 2003. In Section 1 of HB37, it states, “The intent of the Legislature [is] that animals that participate in greyhound racing...and animals that are bred and trained for greyhound racing [must] be treated humanely, both on and off the racetrack, throughout the lives of the animals.”

Then it goes on to say in Section 2 of the same bill, “A greyhound bred, trained, or used for greyhound racing may not be put to death by any means other than lethal injections.”

HB37 does specifically spell out how racing greyhounds should be eliminated. Yet, I have to wonder if greyhound owners will pay a licensed veterinarian to get rid of their expendable greyhounds? Or, will some greyhound owners continue to have their dogs disposed of by the cheapest way possible in an effort to save money in an industry which is rapidly losing favor with the general public? For the law is only as good as its enforcement, and the industry will have to be monitored and policed for the law to have any effect at all.

(For more greyhound racing facts, go to the Humane Society of the United States website at www.hsus.org.)

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