Inside the battle to preserve racing Greyhounds

Jennifer Newcome, chair of the committee to support greyhounds, joins me to talk about the fight to preserve Greyhound participation in a sport they love and the current ballot initiative in Florida to ban betting on Greyhound racing.

The proposed legislation is a Constitutional amendment that effectively allows Animal Rights extremists to define what constitutes humane treatment of animals, rather than breeders, owners and exhibitors, Newcome said.

Equating a dog’s purpose-bred job with inhumane conditions, is a “terrifying” concept, Newcome added. It creates a vehicle for banning all activities with animals at the constitutional level.

From the Greyhound Club of America:

About The Greyhound

Purpose

The Greyhound is a sighthound and one of the oldest breeds of dogs. Sighthounds are hunting dogs that pursue running game by sight rather than by scent. This manner of hunting is called “coursing”. The attributes of speed, agility, strength and endurance are necessary to catch and hold game. The feature that distinguishes Greyhounds (and sighthounds) is their ability to run at speeds of 35 miles per hour or more using the double suspension gallop. The Greyhound demonstrates the double suspension gallop in its highest perfection. Their incredible speed comes from the singular combination of skeletal structure, musculature, and the ability to focus completely on the object of the chase.

Greyhounds and other sighthounds course game independently of humans. Sighthounds are unlike other breeds such as herding dogs that take signals from humans when moving sheep from pasture to pen or sporting dog breeds that range out to point and hold birds in one spot until their human indicates it’s time to flush. Once the chase is on and the Greyhound is on its way, there is very little you can do to intervene until the chase is over.

Newcome encourages all Florida residents to vote no on Amendment 13 to protect all of our rights to enjoy the various sports we play with our animals. The American Kennel Club and National Animal Interest Alliance also oppose this legislation.