MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS END GREYHOUND RACING

Misled by animal rights misinformation and emotional hype, Massachusetts residents voted on November 4 to end greyhound racing. 

 

As a result, the state’s two tracks, Raynham-Taunton and Wonderland, will be forced to close effective January 1, 2010. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 workers will be left jobless when the tracks close. 

 

In addition, between 300 and 400 greyhounds will have to be relocated to other tracks, returned to their owners, or moved into adoption programs.

 

Gary Temple, Raynham general manager, said his employees were stunned by the decision.  In an interview with the Cape Cod Times, Temple said, "It’s hard to explain why they’re losing their jobs when they haven’t done anything wrong."  He said the atmosphere around the track was very somber in the days after the election.

 

The campaign to eliminate greyhound racing was funded by Grey2K USA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), one of the wealthiest animal rights groups in the world.

 

"Massachusetts tracks had an excellent record on greyhound welfare and adoption," said AGC Communications Coordinator Gary Guccione.  "But these extreme animal rights groups don’t care about the facts.  Their goal is to dictate how the rest of us live, what we eat, and how we spend our leisure time."

 

It is unclear whether the tracks have any legal options for preventing or delaying implementation of the ban.