RACING GREYHOUNDS SUFFER LIFE-ENDING INJURIES

Nov 07, 2003 - Deaths at Flagler & Naples Dog Tracks Reveal Deadly Trend

Recent incidents:
* Naples-Fort Myers - Greyhound hits inside rail, severs front leg and suffers for over an hour because no vet is on site.
* Flagler - Greyhound hits inside rail and suffers severe injury. Eyewitnesses report leg is dangling and dog is euthanized.
* Palm Beach - Greyhound involved in serious collision. Dazed and injured, the dog stumbles under the fence and is electrocuted by the rail. The 200-pound motor moving at over 30 mph then slams her live body.
* Mobile - Greyhound suffers electrocution before the lure motor severs her rear leg causing her to scream and bleed to death in front of spectators.

The Greyhound Protection League (GPL) was alerted to these tragedies by eyewitnesses. Because reporting of injuries and deaths is not mandatory, the national advocacy group believes that these incidents represent the tip of the iceberg for the Southeastern racing circuit in recent months. GPL has filed complaints with the state regulatory boards advocating improved safety measures.

One of the deaths occurred at Flagler dog track October 30th: During the 10th race on the afternoon race card, Bohemian Capture, a red-fawn two-year-old male, hit the unprotected rail with such force that according to an inside source, his leg was almost severed. A review of the race video shows Bohemian tumbling head over tail several times after hitting the rail. This fatality occurred just two days before the horrifying incident at the Naples track where a dog lay bleeding from a severed leg for over an hour with no veterinarian care.

"We are talking about a dangerous sport that is not highly regulated from an animal welfare standpoint," said GPL spokesperson, Lenka Perron. "Tracks have little incentive to invest in greyhound safety by upgrading the lure mechanism and installing relatively simple safety devices because over-breeding of racing greyhounds keeps a steady supply of fresh dogs waiting in the wings to replace dead and injured dogs.

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