GREYHOUND ADVOCATES CHARGE THAT OFFICIALS IGNORED CONDITIONS AT RIPPETOE KENNEL COMPOUND

Jul 14, 2005 - Tucson, Arizona – Greyhound Protection League President Susan Netboy went on record today with charges that racing officials, from the Arizona Racing Commission on down, have for years been derelict in their responsibilities to protect greyhounds that race at Tucson Greyhound Park (TGP). The charges were sparked when an agency - outside the racing industry - found it necessary to confiscate nearly 100 neglected greyhounds from a primary greyhound holding facility used by TGP. “Everyone in the greyhound community knows that conditions at the Rippetoe compound are deplorable and have been for decades,” said Netboy. Netboy, whose California-based greyhound rescue organization, Greyhound Friends for Life, took in hundreds of Tucson dogs from 1991 through 1997, has first-hand knowledge of the neglect that was going on at the Rippetoe compound, which until recently was the primary holding kennel for all Tucson race dogs.

In September of 1996, after the Department of Racing (DOR) had ignored the needs of racing dogs for years, Netboy and several other animal welfare organizations went over the department’s head with a letter of complaint to Attorney General Grant Woods. Three months later, the DOR responded with a letter stating that they did, in fact, have jurisdiction over the Rippetoe kennel, including active racers, inactive racers and grade-offs. The letter stated that the Department would make improvements and be more diligent.

Since that time, virtually nothing has changed, as evidenced by the now well-publicized squalor that Tucson greyhounds were experiencing on a daily basis. In addition to issues related to kennel conditions, Netboy is concerned about regulations that are on the books, but ignored by Arizona dog tracks and the DOR, which is supposed to enforce them.

“The DOR has had more than enough time to do something about this,” said Netboy. “They have completely failed these dogs.” Netboy alleges that local track officials – some of whom work under the DOR - have been equally derelict in their duties. “They have known full well what was going on and turned a blind eye: as long as they were making money off the dogs, they didn’t care what condition the dogs were in.” Netboy also noted that TGP is fully aware that Tucson is a low-end track and that kennel owners and trainers are barely making enough money to feed themselves, let alone take even marginal care of their greyhounds.”

Insiders have stated to the League that TGP officially rented kennel space at the Rippetoe compound, a prospect that puts TGP in line for cruelty and neglect charges along with Rippetoe and others.

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