Join the Campaign – Ban Greyhound Racing in South Africa

I have today received the following appeal from South Africa. Please support them.

We are sitting with a crisis and we need help and/or advice. They are looking at legalising greyhound racing in South Africa, citing Black Economic Empowerment and job creation for the poor. Please read below.

Regards,
Nikki Botha
South Africa

On 1 February 2009 on the front page of the Business Report of the Sunday Tribune newspaper there was an article publicising the legalisation of greyhound sport racing. The feeble excuse given for the legal introduction of this sport is job creation for a large number of individuals.

An aside reason was that this sport is already being conducted illegally (‘underground’ market) so it is nothing new. They even tried to justify the legalisation of this sport by saying that it would complement the horse racing industry and the dogs could be raced after the horses were. WHAT THE HELL????

As responsible citizens, and more importantly as animal lovers we CANNOT stand around and do nothing, thereby ALLOWING this atrocity to happen. To give you all more clarity about the severity of this sport being reintroduced as well as its devastating impact on the animals, below are two written submissions by Animal Rights Africa condemning this totally. The dates of the public hearings are also listed below. If you are able to attend a hearing and offer your support to fight for this sport to NOT be legalised, PLEASE attend it. Animal Rights Africa and other animal organisations fighting against the legalisation of this sport need all the public support possible. You are also encouraged to stage protests outside the buildings where these consultations/hearings are being held.

Scheduled public consultations for the greyhound racing issue:

6 Feb 9h00-12h30 Protea Edward Hotel, Durban

13 Feb 9h00-12h30 Protea Seapoint Hotel, Cape Town

20 Feb 9h00-12h30 Protea Marine Hotel, Port Elizabeth

26 Feb 9h00-12h30 Garden Court Hotel, Bloemfontein

27 Feb 9h00-12h30 Protea Manor Hotel, Hatfields, Pretoria

6 March 9h00-12h30 Garden Court East London, Esplanade, East London

Please be part of the solution to eradicate the cause. We cannot allow more animals of this world to needlessly suffer because of mankind’s selfishness and greed.

Animal Rights Africa Written Submission:
A response to the consideration of the legalisation of
Greyhound Racing in South Africa

28 November 2008

Executive Summary
Animal Rights Africa (ARA) expresses its outright condemnation of the possible legalisation of greyhound racing in South Africa. As an organization, our primary concern is the wellbeing of all animals, including all dogs used in the illegal practice of commercial racing, irrespective of their breed. We strongly support a continued ban on this abhorrent practice and would never condone lifting the moratorium in this regard.

ARA’s stance is first and foremost is the welfare concern. We believe that empirical evidence from around the world shows that this practice is related to enormous amounts of cruelty to the dogs involved in this industry. We do not believe the proponents of this practice in South Africa have substantially put forward an effective welfare plan in order to self-regulate agents of this industry and that ultimately policing of welfare issues will again be squarely placed at the foot of the hugely under resourced and over burdened animal protection bodies in this country. Such a shortfall in human and financial resources in trying to police this activity will result in incidents of cruelty that will go unnoticed, undetected the general public and hence perpetrators will be allowed to perpetuate abhorrent practices.

Welfare concerns include well recorded standard practices associated with this sport:

• The use of live lures in encouraging running speed and acceleration;

• Dogs housed in cages and crates for excessively long periods of time in between races and during transport from race meet to race meet;

• Retired dogs and non-performing dogs are discarded by race owners – these are often not ‘rehomed’ but are either put out on the street, placed in pounds or shelters, or ultimately euthanized as a result;

• South Africa is experiencing unprecedented amounts unwanted domestic animals and current euthanasia rates are astronomical. The introduction of this industry will merely add to the burgeoning overflow of unwanted/uncared for dogs in this country, and with such under resourced animal protection agencies, these animals will merely add a new dimension to these agencies huge task of trying to control animal overpopulation and prevent cruelty;

• Often times, performance enhancing drugs are administered to these animals such as in the horse racing industry, ultimately affecting the wellbeing of these animals and animals are pushed to the extreme with cruel and negative reinforcement training methods;

• In South Africa, where poorer underprivileged communities will view this form of gambling as an economic opportunity to feed their families, will result in uncontrolled breeding practices and compromised health standards for the dogs, in areas where access to veterinary care is economically and logistically restricted.

Human welfare concerns are also paramount:

ARA does not believe this type of gambling is sound economic business practice but opportunistic to only a handful of racketeering profit mongers. South Africa has opened its society to such vast amounts to a variety of gambling practices, that the advent of slot machines and casinos per se are available in every large city metropolis. Access to gambling is freely available in democratic South Africa, there is no need at all to add to this industry.

Gambling in any society does require government regulation and South Africa is already struggling to maintain its legislative and jurisdictive oversight in so many other spheres of regulated activity which requires policing. This country can ill afford to add to the burgeoning load of regulatory bodies. South Africa should focus on sustainable economic business development and certainly should steer away from industries that are on the decline in other areas of the world, for good reason.

South Africa will not be able to sustain the practice, resulting in poor policing, poor regulation, poor enforcement and merely encourage the poor to spend their last financial resources to add to the coffers of the totalisers and bookmakers rather than sound financial investments such as food or education for their families. The profiteering racketeers will enrich themselves whilst the poor will become poorer.

In current global economic meltdown with economies entering recessions and job losses rife, South Africa should not be considering legalizing a gambling practice that empirical evidence shows merely adds to the deprivation of the poorer sectors of society. This would be tantamount irresponsibility on behalf of policy makers and research advisors.

South Africa has a distinguished and uniquely proud legacy of overcoming huge adversity in the face of great oppression. We are a progressive society with a world class constitution. This country should continue to be a thought leader and proponent of innovative economic development, and should not be encouraging regressive and outdated opportunistic practices from the northern hemispheres.

South Africa should continue to serve as an example of how to do things right and not borrow degenerative practices from first world countries, merely following these practices because they happen in the first world. We have learned serious lessons about continuing and adopting colonial practices from the north, and we should proudly discard these in the face of ruthless economic pirates and racketeers. For a South African to proudly use the British monarchy as a shining example of ‘how to do things’ is shameful in our respected republic.

The outdated and archaic sporting practices of monarchial figureheads who have long reputations for their cruel and oppressive history on the African continent exploiting both humans and animals in Africa should not be entertained by progressive, positive minded South African citizens and hardly regarded as role models to our proud society that has much to teach imperialistic countries about democratic practices.

In summary, such a consideration should not only be rejected out of hand but recommendation should be made for a revision of this legislation not to be considered in any form.

Animal welfare considerations – lessons learned
It is predicted that the majority of these animals will be housed in extremely poor conditions, with little consideration paid to their general wellbeing and exploited as they are put under pressure to consistently perform on the race track.

There are well documented empirical facts from around the world that show that even in well resourced first world countries, the industry does not self regulate itself, does not take responsibility for the animals and ultimately this responsibility is left to the under resourced animal protection agencies.

To add to the enormous overpopulation of domestic animals in South Africa would be criminal. No one will take responsibility for rehoming and caring for older dogs and will ultimately be discarded or used for bush racing and hunting, under poor conditions, thousands and thousands. There will be dramatic increases in the breeding of these dogs, across all breeds with no control or monitoring.

The surplus dogs will aggravate the lack of suitable homes for dog adoptions and impact directly on more dogs not being able to find homes with the resultant dilemma of how to dispose of unwanted dogs. Note that not every dog born is a fast runner. This will ultimately lead to blatantly recommending killing dogs that do not make the grade.

Surplus racing dogs will impact seriously on animal welfare organisations who already are struggling financially.
In addition to the cruel and unacceptable methods of disposing of surplus dogs experienced in other countries, it would cause the premature and untimely euthanasia of thousands of healthy as well as injured and non-performing dogs.

Dogs left “in the industry” may spend their lives in cramped, substandard kennels: – not as companion animals but as possessions, being cared for much in the same way as car racers care for their vehicles. Dogs in such situations face an extent of boredom in these kennels that their pent-up energy is channelled into racing or sled pulling.

Dog racing can, and does, result in multiple injuries to dogs both on the track and out of the public eye without proper veterinary treatment and care. This applies to all forms of dog racing, including sledding.

Self-regulation over many years and in other countries where dog racing is legal has failed to achieve adequate welfare standards and controls.

Successful dogs have an average racing lifespan of 4 years, barring injuries (greyhounds).

Sled dogs have an average racing lifespan of 7 years. The average lifespan of a pet dog is between 10 and 15 years.

One bitch can have 2 litters of pups per year, with as many as 12 pups per litter.

Over 50% of greyhounds are “disposed of” before they reach the tracks. Dogs are often trained to race by following the mechanical or rag hare and in many instances, live animal such as rabbits and cats are used in this training process. In America an estimated 100,000 live animals are torn apart and killed each year in training dogs to race.

Racing dogs spend most of their lives caged. The permanent cage size set down previously by the NGRB (SA) is 2.3m x 1m.

The dogs often become aggressive and frustrated, generally not towards people but to other animals and have to wear wire muzzles to prevent them biting.

Racing dogs may be drugged to hide injuries, and drug tests in England show that 3% of the samples taken were positive for drugs. Drugs that have been found in use are amphetamines, cocaine, anabolics, angel dust and dexidrine. Human athletes can decide whether or not to run with injuries and to take drugs, animals can’t.

While at the racetrack, dogs are confined in small cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around for long hours each day. Many are seriously injured while racing, and thousands are killed each year when they can no longer compete. At the racetrack, dogs are routinely confined in small cages barely large enough for them to stand up for long hours each day.

The most common injuries are bone fractures and soft tissue injuries. Other reported injuries include cardiac arrest, spontaneous seizures, sudden collapse before or after racing, spinal cord paralysis, severed tails, lacerated eyes, and puncture wounds. Based on the records that are available we can safely estimate that thousands of dogs are seriously injured each year around the world. For example, between 2002 and 2006, over six hundred dogs were injured while racing in Massachusetts in the US.

More than 10,000 dogs are killed in the US each year. Race dogs may also be sold and used in laboratories for animal testing after they have retired as they are trained to be complacent and obedient.

Because dogs typically race at several racetracks during their racing career, trainers often transport large numbers of dogs from one racetrack to another. During this process, dogs are usually transported in cramped conditions, and in some cases undergo cross-country trips in unventilated, aluminum trailers or rental vans.

Transportation over long distances can cause dogs to suffer from dehydration, weight variation, and exhaustion.

In recent years, there have been several media-documented cases of racing dogs dying while being transported. To the racing industry, greyhounds are short-term investments. As with all investments, making a profit depends on securing the highest possible return while incurring the least amount of cost. Except for a handful of champion dogs, racing greyhounds are disposable, and there are always young dogs available to replace dogs who are no longer profitable.

On average, a population of 1,000 dogs is required for the operation of a commercial racetrack.

In 2003, in the United States, approximately 33,715 dogs were bred as potential racers. The same year, 26,277 dogs were individually registered to race at 14 – 17 months of age.

Legalised dog racing will worsen, not improve, the growing hunting and poaching problem in SA including the increase in informal and difficult to monitor non-registered racing.

Dog racing internationally has resulted in the unnecessary suffering of thousands of animals out of the public eye.

The industry has marketed the concept of fun, entertainment, excitement and get rich quickly, and even job creation as why this sport is merited, all the while denying the underlying truth of generating large income for a few at the expense of many.

African rural dog hunting/amateur racing groupings should not be allowed to perpetuate the myth that these dogs are a viable source of income to families. These animals suffer enormously and their welfare should not be compromised.

There is overwhelming evidence overseas that the dog racing industry is declining with numerous tracks closing and many only surviving through government support and application for licences to install slot gambling machines to supplement declining income.

The proposal from the proponents of dog racing is flawed with vagueness both in content and promises of envisaged prevention of internationally experienced problems within dog racing. Self-regulation has failed and will also fail in South Africa. This industry should continue to be illegal and outlawed in this country.

A photograph taken in Gauteng demonstrates the standard of appalling conditions in which racing dogs are kept – these dogs are fed the rotting corpses of dead chickens, kept in wire cages with terrible injuries and ill health without medical attention.

_____________________________________________

28 November 2008

Attention: Professor Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer
Faculty of Law
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein
E-mail: snymane.rd@ufs.ac.za

Dear Professor Snyman-Van Deventer,

RE: Possible legalisation of Greyhound Racing in South Africa

Please find attached Animal Rights Africa’s (ARA) written submission in response to the research your department is undertaking on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry regarding the possible legalization of greyhound racing in this country.

In summary, ARA outright condemns the legalization of this sport in South Africa, and would continue to support a sustained moratorium ban on greyhound racing. Our reasoning is essentially based on the concerns around the introduction to South Africa of abhorrent practices that surround this activity as they exist in other countries globally, and ultimately would result in enormous untold suffering and deprivation of welfare for thousands of animals in the future.

ARA appreciates the consideration of socio-economic development in South Africa, given our dire need for job creation and employment opportunities due to increasing poverty. However, we believe empirical research shows that the greyhound racing industry is in rapid decline around the world, for good reason, in that progressive societies are realizing the extent of cruelty involved in the sport, and thus a greater lack of support for the practice. More and more, societies are moving from animal related gambling activities to slot machines around the world.

We also believe that global evidence reveals that ultimately only a few interested stakeholders will profiteer enormously off the back of suffering not animal amongst the animals, but amongst the millions of impoverished citizens for whom gambling merely adds to their economic deprivation.

If South Africa is to thrive both economically and as a prosperous democracy, both government and its citizens should be engaging in positive economic opportunities, not encouraging a lose-lose industry whereby both the poor and the animals will be the resultant casualties at the hands of a few profiteering opportunists.

In so many other respects, South Africa continues to hold its head high globally for its extremely progressive constitution and democratic practices, which many fought and sacrificed so much in order to achieve. It would be a very sad day indeed if South Africa slid back to darker days involving oppressive practices that involve causal suffering, both economically and socially. As a country, we should continue to serve as an example to the rest of the world as a thought leader and that we reject all forms of regressive practices, however lucrative they are to a small pool of self-interested business proponents who have no self-regulatory system to combat welfare issues or concern for the poor.

ARA would like to kindly request a copy of the intended time schedule and plan for gathering public input linked to this commissioned research investigation, together with a guarantee of opportunity for civil society bodies to be fairly represented in some form of oral submission process. We would also appreciate a copy of the terms of reference your team has used as the guidelines for your research undertaking.

Your time and consideration in this matter is much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Leanne Smith,
Trustee
For and on behalf of Animal Rights Africa