When the National Greyhound Association (NGA) evacuated dozens of neglected greyhounds from an Arkansas farm in May and later banned its owner from greyhound racing for life, greyhound welfare advocates around the country applauded. At least, the real greyhound welfare advocates applauded. But not Carey Theil, Grey2K’s top mouthpiece.
Instead, Theil condemned NGA’s humane intervention. According to him, the NGA did everything wrong. Yet today those greyhounds, which might not have survived otherwise, are alive and well, and a sub-standard breeder is out of the business forever. So why is Carey so upset?
The answer is simple. Grey2K doesn’t really care about greyhounds at all. It’s not a greyhound welfare organization. It never was. It’s a political organization, and the only way it can justify its own existence is to talk trash about greyhound racing. That’s how Grey2K raises funds.
So when the industry proves its commitment to greyhound welfare, it doesn’t just make Carey look like a liar. It also costs him money. How can he gin up the haters and raise big bucks when it’s the racing organizations–and not Grey2K–that are actually saving greyhounds?
Ginning up the haters is what Carey Theil does best. Every news release, every blog, every paragraph of the Grey2K website is designed to fan the flames of hate against an industry that, in reality, is made up of caring, committed individuals, the vast majority of whom love greyhounds and take their humane care obligation very seriously. But that reality doesn’t do much for Grey2K’s fundraising efforts.
The FBI defines hate groups as those whose “primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility and malice” against people of a particular race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or other “immutable characteristic.” Although the Grey2K attacks on greyhound racing aren’t based on any of those “immutable characteristics,” they are certainly filled with animosity, hostility and malice.
For instance, one Grey2K supporter posted this response to news that a long-time NGA member had died: “I’m sure there’s a special place in hell for him.” A follow-up comment expressed the view that the deceased man’s family members would likely join him there. Not surprisingly, Grey2K hasn’t even attempted to distance itself from the grotesque comment, which should have been firmly and publicly condemned. On the other hand, it would be awkward, to say the least, for the organization to condemn hate speech when its own leaders have adopted such rhetoric as their stock in trade.
Animosity is surely what drove Carey Theil to condemn NGA for “not pressing charges” against the Arkansas breeder, knowing full well that only the county prosecutor had the authority to do so.
It was certainly “promoting hostility” when Carey vilified NGA for offering 21 of the evacuated greyhounds at auction, despite the fact that this was required under Kansas lien laws.
And can anyone doubt that there was malice in Theil’s false claim that the NGA would profit from that sale, when it was racing organizations that paid 100 percent of the extensive costs involved in the transport, care, feeding and rehabilitation of all those greyhounds?
Of course, it’s not surprising that Carey Theil wouldn’t understand how costly this kind of effort might be. His organization doesn’t operate a single program that provides food or care for greyhounds. Instead, Grey2K spends its money on fundraising, lobbying and “education.” Expensive stuff. And Carey needs to pay those bills.
Animosity, hostility, malice. Grey2K calls it “education.” We call it “hate speech.” Whatever you call it, one thing is certain. It reveals the ugly truth about this radical animal rights group. It’s not about the greyhounds. It’s about the money.
