Florida and Texas will end greyhound racing in 2020, and Arkansas will join them at the end of 2021. That will leave active tracks in only Iowa and West Virginia.
LEE ROOD: A bill that would phase out pari-mutuel greyhound racing nationwide was introduced in Congress, days after reports that live jackrabbits were used to train dogs that may have raced at Iowa’s only remaining commercial track and in other states…
Racing authorities and law enforcement officials, along with those in other states, are investigating videos taken this spring and summer by an informant for the nonprofit lobbying organization Grey2K USA Worldwide at three breeding farms. The videos show handlers pulling rabbits from cages, dragging them in front of the dogs and releasing them to be chased, maimed and killed…
Several animal rights groups applauded the Greyhound Protection Act introduced by U.S. Reps. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. The measure also would ban the use of live animals for training dogs, a practice the shrinking industry claimed it ended decades ago, and which is illegal in many states…
“Greyhound racing will soon end in the United States, and this bill allows for a managed phase-out of the activity to enable planning to provide homes for the dogs and certainty for the owners, workers, and breeders in the industry,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes legal standards against animal cruelty…
Once legal in 19 states, commercial greyhound racing has been in decline since the 1990s in response to concerns raised by animal welfare activists, as well as declining public interest and changes in the entertainment business and gambling. In addition, studies have shown the cost of regulating the sport is now greater than the revenue it generates.
Florida will end greyhound racing this year, and Arkansas will join it at the end of 2021. Texas’ only active track announced this month it was closing. That will leave active tracks in only Iowa and West Virginia. State subsidies for greyhound racing expire in Iowa at the end of 2021. SOURCE…
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