Dogs Racing

So you want to know all about racing dogs treatment in different countries and in overall? Ok, here we go! In the United States, greyhound racing is not governed by the Animal Welfare Act, so treatment of the dogs depends largely on the industry's self-regulation. Kennels are made up of indoor crates stacked two levels high, with the females usually kept on the upper level, and males on the lower level. While the space allocated to each dog varies between locations, typical crate size is 3-1/2 feet wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) deep by 3 feet (0.91 m) high. While living on the track these dogs will spend most of their time in these kennels. In addition to state regulation, most tracks adopt their own rules, policies and procedures. In exchange for the right to race their greyhounds at the track, kennel owners must sign contracts in which they agree to abide by all track rules, including those pertaining to animal welfare. If kennel owners violate these contract clauses, they stand to lose their track privileges and even their racing licenses.

In a number of European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland) greyhound racing is carried out by the owners of the dogs without financial interest. This amateur form of the sport is also found in some countries, such as the United States, where professional racing exists. In these countries the dogs often live as pets.

Touching on more to the point, the Australian Greyhound Racing Association (AGRA) is divided into many state governing bodies, which regulate greyhound welfare and living conditions. All racing authorities in Australia, also finance Greyhound Adoption Groups, which house dozens of greyhounds a month. Each Australian State and Territory has a governing greyhound racing body. The New South Wales Greyhound Racing Authority (NSWGRA) and Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) are the two largest authorities, governing over 40 racetracks. The Queensland Greyhound Racing Authority (QGRA), Western Australian Greyhound Racing Authority (WAGRA), Tasmanian Greyhound Racing Authority (TGRA), Greyhound Racing South Australia (GRSA), Northern Territory Racing Authority, and the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club (CGRC), all contribute to running and monitoring of greyhound racing in Australia as it continues to grow. In Australia, greyhounds live in kennels at night and are put into running yards or day yards to keep them entertained and exercised, during the day, in accordance with guidelines set by the Australian Greyhound Racing Authority. This is aimed to keep greyhounds as fit, happy, and healthy as possible. Greyhounds are checked for parasites, malnourishment, or any other medical conditions by an on-course vet before being able to compete.

If having a look at next country, UK, greyhounds here are not kept at the tracks and are instead housed in the kennels of private individuals (usually the trainer, in the case of licensed NGRC tracks - unlicensed greyhound racing is known as "flapping") and transported to the tracks to race. Dogs' health and condition are checked at the track, and drugs tests are conducted to check for tampering with the dogs. Due to the high number of dogs going through the system each year the National Greyhound Racing Club have set up The Retired Greyhound Trust to rehome the Greyhounds who have left or were unable to start racing. It is a charity but is partly funded by the National Greyhound Racing Club and presents a better view of Greyhound racing to the public. There are also many independent organizations who are finding homes for retired Greyhounds.

In the Republic of South Africa dogs are kept with their owners. Due to the amateur state of racing, owners are by and large also the trainer and rearer of the dogs; it is very rare that a dog is kenneled with a trainer. Racing is controlled by a partnership between the United Greyhound Racing and Breeders Society (UGRABS) and the South African Renhond Unie (SARU - South African Racing Dog Union). The studbook is kept by the South African Studbook and organization who keep studbooks for all stud animals. Racing takes place on both oval and straight tracks. Racing is technically illegal in South Africa, which is strange as any other form of animal racing, i.e. horse racing, pigeon racing and even ostrich racing is perfectly legal. Great controversy rages because the use of greyhounds to hunt wild animals is a fairly common occurrence. The supporters of dog racing believe that legal racing, as an industry similar to that of Australia of Great Britain, would cause hunting to eventually stop.

What about medical care, as already mentioned in previous post (but in much less information) greyhound adoption groups over and over again report that the dogs from the tracks have tooth problems the cause of which is debated. The groups often also find that the dogs carry tick-borne diseases and parasites due to the lack of proper preventative treatments. The dogs require regular vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases like kennel cough. Recently, doping has also emerged as a problem in Greyhound racing. The racing industry is actively working to prevent the spread of this practice; attempts are being made to recover urine samples from all greyhounds in a race, not just the winners. Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track. Violators are subject to criminal penalties and loss of their racing licenses by state gaming commissions and a permanent ban from the National Greyhound Association. The trainer of the greyhound is at all times the "absolute insurer" of the condition of the animal. The trainer is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system.