Would you like to have a new gambling system in the Philippines that would result in the killing of tens of thousands of puppies and adult dogs every year and have thousands more kept in cramped cages almost 24 hours a day? That is what is going to happen here if two new bills are passed by Congress to give a franchise to a private corporation to operate a greyhound racetrack in Cebu.
The opposition to them is so strong that representatives of animal welfare groups trooped to the Kapihan sa Manila last Monday, along with Senators Jamby Madrigal and Kiko Pangilinan, to voice their opposition to the measures. The Catholic Church is also opposed to it.
Greyhound racing is similar to horseracing: Greyhounds, a slim and very fast breed of dogs, are made to chase a mechanical rabbit around a racetrack. The fastest dog, and the bets on it, win. But there is a difference between the care and treatment of the racehorses and the dogs.
While the horses are loved and very well cared for by their owners and grooms, the dogs are treated like commodities. Horses are raised scientifically from birth, through training and racing career, and afterwards retired in pastures with other champion horses to breed more racing horses. Greyhounds, on the other hand, know nothing but misery and cruelty. Dogs want nothing more than to snuggle on the couch and be part of a family, but the world of racing greyhounds is reduced to a tiny cage and a lifetime of servitude.
A law, our Animal Welfare Act (AWA), penalizes cruelty to animals, but our legislators want to set up another gambling system that is cruel to dogs.
Ana Cabrera of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and Rochelle R. Regodon of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) related these cruelties. The cruelty begins even before a dog steps foot on a track. Thousands of puppies that breeders think would be too slow to win races are killed each year. Adult dogs have been shot, bludgeoned, or simply abandoned to starve to death. Those who survive the initial cull live on borrowed time?only as long as their stamina and speed remain. A greyhound?s racing career is usually only three years but its life span is 13 years. Therefore, it has about 10 more years left when its racing career ends. So what do their owners do with them during their remaining years? Rather than spend for them for the next 10 years, their owners put them to death.
?Thousands of greyhounds considered too slow or too old to race are being killed and dumped by their owners,? said Dr. Hugh Wirth, president of the Australia RSPCA. Last year, 400 greyhounds imported by China from Australia were killed due to injuries and old age. Recently 10,000 dead greyhounds were found in a killing field. The bodies of 3,000 former racers were uncovered in a backyard pit; 73 greyhounds burned to death when fire broke out in their kennel. These horrible incidents occurred in England and the United States, but greyhound racing causes suffering and deaths to countless more dogs around the world. This cruel gambling habit has no place in the Philippines.
Even dogs considered ?good enough? to race typically spend their lives in cramped cages and are kept muzzled at all times. They never know a kind word or a gentle pat from their owners. Many develop muzzle and crate sores and suffer infestations from internal and external parasites. Although they are extremely sensitive to temperatures because of their lack of body fat and thin coats, greyhounds are forced to race in extreme conditions ranging from subzero temperatures to sweltering heat.
Many greyhounds have died during transport from one racetrack to another. It is common practice to carry dozens of greyhounds in one truck, cramming two or three dogs in each crate. The temperatures in these trucks can soar on a hot day, which often prove deadly to animals who cannot sweat to cool themselves.
Trainers often dope greyhounds to mask injuries or to make them run faster. Irish millionaire Paul Hennessy?considered one of Ireland?s most successful trainers?pleaded guilty to seven counts of possession of unauthorized animal performance-enhancing drugs. Two trainers in England were found guilty of giving potentially deadly drugs to injured greyhounds to keep them running. Dogs?and trainers?have tested positive for cocaine.
Sickness and injuries?including broken legs, heatstroke and heart attacks?claim the lives of many dogs. During a three-year span, almost 500 greyhounds were injured while racing in a Massachusetts track in the US alone. In 2008, voters overwhelmingly voted to ban this deadly sport in that state. Indeed, all over the US and the world, an increasingly informed public no longer wants to support a gambling industry that treats man?s best friend like garbage. In recent years, 27 racetracks have closed in the US due to declining attendance and off-track bets, and the so-called sport is now illegal in 34 states. Barbados, Haiti and Indonesia have all closed their once-active tracks. In Guam, former racing dogs were given to anyone who would take them after the local track closed due to dwindling profits.
That is why operators now want to move to the Philippines. But Filipino gambling syndicates and their sponsors in Congress are out of touch with reality and public sentiment if they think opening a dog track here is a sound business proposition. And taxpayers will be forced to subsidize this failing industry should Congress give it a franchise. For like the thousands of dogs being used in this cruel ?sport,? the greyhound racing industry is dying. And yet some of our legislators still want to join it?
