 This is where the greyhounds at the Wonderland dog track spend most of their time -- confined in a cage that is barely big enough to hold them (as you can see, this dog's head is nearly touching the cage's roof) on a "bed" of shredded paper. The cages are double-stacked and are lined up next to each other all along the wall of the room. The dogs spend their days confined, except for four or five 45-minute bathroom breaks a day, and when they're transported to the track to race (a few times each month for each dog). On a non-racing day, then, the dogs spend about 20 hours in these cages.
The confinement, while perhaps not pleasant, isn't really the worst of it. The dogs get hurt in the races. Not every dog, and not every race, but there are plenty of injuries. Each month, on average, 6 dogs at Wonderland and 7 dogs at the Raynham dog track suffer injuries that are bad enough to report to the state. The vast majority of the injuries are broken bones. Some are bad enough to require that the dog be euthanized, and most take a long time to heal; the average recovery period, as estimated by the dog tracks, is 31 weeks.
 Where does all this information come from? Well, as you may have read in today's Globe, there's a new report out on the dog racing industry. You can read the whole thing here (WARNING: large pdf file - about 14 MB). It was prepared by The Committee to Protect Dogs, which wants to put a question on the 2008 ballot that would ban dog racing in Massachusetts. The executive summary reads:
There are currently two commercial dog tracks in Massachusetts: Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere and Raynham Park in Raynham.
This report documents animal welfare problems at these facilities. It also explores other relevant issues, such as the economic decline of dog racing in the Commonwealth. As the data are examined, some basic facts emerge:
Injuries
* Since 2002, there have been 728 reported greyhound injuries at these tracks.
* Nearly 80% of the injuries reported involved broken bones.
* Other reported injuries include dislocations, ruptures, lacerations, head trauma, instant death, cardiac arrest, paralysis and seizures.
* Most reported injuries were serious; of the 438 reports that indicated an estimated recovery time, the average estimated recovery time was 31 weeks.
Confinement
* Both tracks require a population of over 1,000 dogs in order to function as a gambling business.
* At Massachusetts racetracks, dogs live in small cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around for 20 or more hours per day.
Continued on the flip. |
Other Issues
* In the Spring of 2005 nineteen dogs at Wonderland Greyhound Park died from a mystery illness that was later proven to be a form of horse flu that had never before jumped species.
* To reduce costs, dogs at these tracks are fed meat that has been deemed unfit for human consumption.
* Because this meat is fed to the dogs raw, it can cause dogs to be exposed to serious pathogens such a Salmonella.
* In late 2003 and early 2004, a dog tested positive for cocaine twice at Wonderland Greyhound Park.
* Efforts to protect greyhounds through the legislative and regulatory processes have failed. Voters have no choice but to seek relief through the initiative process.
* Commercial dog racing is a dying industry in Massachusetts. Between 2002 and 2006, the total amount gambled at Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Park declined by 57% and 35%, respectively.
In what strikes me as a very smart move, the information presented in the report comes either from the racing industry itself (via reports filed with the state and otherwise), or from news articles, and it's all specific to Massachusetts. There's relatively little editorializing; it's pretty much "just the facts," leaving readers to make of it what they will. As the authors explain:
In compiling this report we have kept to strict guidelines:
1. All information is specific to Raynham Park and Wonderland Greyhound Park.
2. All information is recent and the majority of data relates to ongoing practices.
3. All information is sourced to state records, industry statements, and/or reports
by mainstream news organizations. All photographs provided were taken by the Massachusetts dog tracks themselves.
There was a ballot question in 2000 to end dog racing. It lost by about 50,000 votes out of over 2.5 million cast (48.6% no to 46.7% yes), one of the closest margins ever for a MA ballot question. There was supposed to be another dog racing question on the 2006 ballot, but it was axed by a hypertechnical interpretation of our already hypertechnical laws regarding ballot questions. Not the SJC's finest hour, but so it goes.
In any event, the issue is back. Today the Attorney General certified a question (actually, two versions of the same question) for the 2008 ballot to end dog racing in Massachusetts. Signature gathering will begin in a couple of weeks.
One of the more interesting aspects of this issue is how it relates to the ongoing debate over casinos. Today's Globe story reports:
The report is being released as Governor Deval Patrick considers whether to support casino gambling, a measure animal rights advocates are concerned could jump-start dog racing. "If there were no casino-style gambling permitted, it would just be a matter of time before greyhound racing stops, because the fan base is limited and aging," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the national Humane Society.
But it could cut the other way too. I heard on the radio this morning (no link, sorry) that one of the dog track owners has suggested that if he were able to install slot machines, he might shut down the dog racing. And dog racing does appear to be a dying industry. The total amount wagered from 2002 to 2006 has declined by 35% at Raynham and 57% at Wonderland. And those numbers include forms of gambling other than dog racing -- such as simulcast horseracing. If you just look at the dog racing numbers, the decline is even more dramatic: a drop of 42% from 2002 to 2006 at Raynham, and a staggering 84% at Wonderland. In fact, in October 2005, Wonderland went from year-round racing to a "seasonal" (half-year, roughly May to October) schedule, presumably because they felt that year-round racing was no longer economically sustainable. (In case you're wondering: the decline in amount wagered on dog racing at Wonderland from 2002 to 2004, the last full year of racing there, was 42%. And the drop from 2004 to 2005 was over 50%, even though there was racing for 10 months in 2005.)
No one, by the way, is claiming that we're talking about an industry of Michael Vicks here. It's just that it's unavoidable that dogs will be hurt during races, and inescapable that, with over 1,000 dogs at each facility, they'll be living in, well, less-than-ideal conditions. It's hard for me to see any good reason to keep propping this industry up (as the lege did back in 2001 with a multimillion dollar bailout package whose returns have been far less than promised -- a 2006 MetroWest Daily News article reprinted in the report says that, although the promise was that the state would receive $5 million a year, the returns were $3.1 million in 2002, declining to $2.1 million in 2005).
Our state has already gotten one national black eye recently when it comes to dog treatment. Let's try to make up for that. Look for a volunteer signature gatherer in a supermarket parking lot near you in the coming weeks! |
