FLORIDA NEWSPAPER HEARS FROM FGA PRESIDENT

 "The January 27 letter from David Samek regarding greyhound racing showed just how wrong people can be when they rely on outdated and biased information from unqualified sources.

 

"First, the writer bases much of his letter on his own experience—in 1989. That was more than twenty years ago, when greyhound adoption programs were still in their infancy.

 

"Twenty-three years later, the vast majority of registered greyhounds—nearly 95 percent—are placed in loving homes when they retire. Hundreds of adoption groups around the country work constructively with greyhound racing every day to make sure that every retired greyhound finds a “forever” home.

 

"Contrary to the writer’s claim, people who breed and race greyhounds are in the business because they love the dogs. For every greyhound that wins a race, seven dogs lose. Relatively few greyhounds generate significant revenues for their owners over the course of their careers. Those owners remain in the sport for the simple joy of working with the dogs. Many have second jobs that pay the bills so they can afford to continue participating in racing.

 

"The most unfortunate thing about this writer’s letter was its endorsement of Grey2K USA, a radical animal rights group. Grey2K has become infamous for distorting the facts and promoting misinformation in order to raise money for its lobbying and political action programs.

 

"Grey2K provides no direct services to benefit greyhounds. It does not provide greyhound adoption services, and in fact has actively opposed some adoption groups in the past simply because those groups worked constructively with greyhound racing.

 

"For reliable, accurate information on greyhound racing, your readers may wish to visit the website of the American Greyhound Council, the greyhound welfare organization in racing, at www.agcouncil.com."