Archive for category: Press Room

The National Greyhound Association (NGA) is calling on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, to work with the greyhound racing industry to promulgate and publish “a sensible, veterinary-based drug testing regimen that protects greyhound health, ensures the integrity of the sport, and provides a fair basis for consistent compliance and enforcement.”

The call comes in response to a December 22 ruling by Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson, who found that state regulators acted illegally earlier this year when they suspended the licenses of two greyhound trainers after the dogs tested positive for traces of a cocaine metabolite. The trainers petitioned the state to invalidate the suspensions, in part because the testing was based on procedures the DPBR was ordered to discontinue in 2015.

The judge found that the positive tests were the result of improper urine sampling procedures that were never officially adopted as state law. The state’s failure to officially promulgate and publish the drug-testing rules effectively invalidates any pending enforcement actions.

Attorney Jennifer Rosenblum, who represented the suspended trainers, said Judge Stevenson has yet to rule on another issue raised in the petition, the contention that the state has failed to establish and publish sensible threshold levels for the substances showing up in trace amounts. A ruling on that count is expected in January.

“Class I violations are being reported for incredibly low trace levels of environmental contaminants that can easily be transferred to greyhounds from the people and objects around them,” Rosenblum said. “Because the Department has never adopted or published acceptable thresholds for any substances, even the tiniest trace amounts are being treated as major violations. That’s not responsible regulation, and it defies common sense.”

NGA Executive Director James Gartland said his organization welcomed the judge’s ruling, and is eager to work constructively with Florida regulators to develop a more responsible drug-testing policy based on sound veterinary science.

“Humans and animals, including greyhounds, can easily pick up trace amounts of cocaine and other drugs from their environment,” Gartland said. “The state should consult with veterinary experts to develop sensible policies that distinguish between trace amounts resulting from environmental contaminants and higher amounts that suggest intentional doping to affect greyhound performance.”

Gartland concluded, “What we have now is a sloppy, careless mess of unadopted, unpublished and inconsistent procedures that produce unfair results. That’s why the judge ruled as he did. Now we have an opportunity to create a much better policy that is fair, professional and based on common-sense standards. The NGA strongly supports that kind of regulatory approach.”

AGC Communications Coordinator Jim Gartland said today that Grey2K’s most recent attack on greyhound racing should be taken “with a grain of salt.”  He made the comment in a statement responding to the Grey2K document, “No Confidence: Drugs in the American Greyhound Industry,” published yesterday. Here is the complete text of the AGC statement:

The pseudo-report released today by Grey2K, “No Confidence,” is aptly named, since the public should have no confidence in the data or conclusions expressed in it. As usual, Grey2K has manufactured an issue where there is none.

It is noteworthy that Grey2K could point to only 847 positive drug tests over a ten-year period. To put that number in context, out of more than 6,000,000 racing starts in the past ten years, a total of 847 greyhounds tested positive for drugs. That’s a .0001percent rate of positive tests–less than a ten-thousandth of one percent.

Grey2K hypes the significance of the 71 positive cocaine tests, but when examined against those 6,000,000 racing starts over ten years, that incidence rate is even lower–it’s .00001, or less than a one-hundred thousandth of one percent.

Grey2K also deliberately failed to mention that these tests showed no major drug presence but merely traces of cocaine or cocaine metabolites, most often attributable to contact with and transfer from human handlers, just as U.S. currency contains trace amounts of cocaine left behind by the people who handle it.

The fact is that there has never been a single documented instance where a racing greyhound’s performance was found to have been measurably enhanced by the ingestion of illegal drugs. In fact, veterinarians tell us that a drug dose large enough to significantly enhance a greyhound’s performance would probably kill the dog.

The steroid issue is similarly bogus. The steroids used to control estrus and manage reproduction in female greyhounds while they are actively engaged in racing bears virtually no resemblance to the high-powered drugs used by athletes and body builders. They are administered in a very low dose under veterinary supervision, have no performance consequences and no negative side effects for the dogs.

Grey2K’s “No Confidence” report presents data without context and conclusions without evidence. It is designed for one purpose and one purpose alone–to attract media attention and raise money. The media and the public should take it with a grain of salt.

The greyhounds housed at the Pet Blood Bank in Cherokee, TX, will be transferred into adoption programs starting this weekend under a joint effort by the Texas Greyhound Association (TGA), the National Greyhound Association (NGA), the American Greyhound Council (AGC), the blood bank facility, and several regional adoption groups, including the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT).

Russ Baker, attorney for the Pet Blood Bank, said all greyhounds at the facility will receive medical and dental examinations so that any health issues can be identified and addressed before the dogs enter adoption programs. The greyhounds have received regular veterinary care during their time at the Pet Blood Bank, and most appear to be in good health.

Baker said the blood bank will close its doors after the greyhounds have been removed, a development he blames on the extreme animal rights group PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

PeTA sent various media outlets an “undercover” video purporting to show greyhounds in ill health at the blood bank. The video has not been independently authenticated, and Baker said it grossly misrepresents blood bank operations. Law enforcement authorities and representatives of the TGA inspected the facility and confirmed that the greyhounds there appeared generally healthy. That didn’t stop PeTA, Baker said.

“The Pet Blood Bank’s decision to close was a business decision. Despite the fact that all inspections have verified that the greyhounds were healthy and receiving proper care, PeTA has continued to harass and threaten our clients. Their actions have caused our long-standing customer relationships to be terminated,” Baker said. “It’s clear that this animal rights attack was not about the truth but about raising funds through misrepresentation. PeTA created a controversy where none existed; it’s how they operate.”

PeTA has become famous for controversial campaigns , including ads comparing meat lovers to serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and likening the consumption of chicken to the Holocaust. The organization also has been caught up in a controversy regarding its so-called pet shelter and adoption center, which since 1998 has euthanized, on average, nearly 86 percent of the pets housed there, according to media reports and state records.

In contrast, greyhound racing associations report that more than 95 percent of all registered greyhounds are adopted or returned to their owners as pets when they retire.

“We’re confident that every greyhound at the blood bank will be on its way to a loving new home within the next few days,” said Gartland. “We appreciate the cooperation of the blood bank management in helping us achieve that outcome.”