SEMINOLE CHRONICLE PUBLISHES NGA VIEWPOINT

The July 13 edition of the Seminole Chronicle carried a Viewpoint column by NGA Board Member Jim Blanchard. The piece was in response to a July 6 article filled with misinformation from Grey2K and a local animal rights group, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (yes,really–ARRF). Here’s the letter as published:

Dear Editor:

Your July 6 story about animal rights protests against greyhound racing (July 6, "Protesters rally") gave a very one-sided portrayal of the issue. The story was more than 25 paragraphs in length, but only four contained comments or balancing information from greyhound racing representatives. As a result, your readers have
been subjected to incomplete, inaccurate and biased coverage.

Animal rights groups like ARFF and Grey2K are not about providing benefit or services to greyhounds. Instead, they focus on protests and publicity stunts designed to promote misinformation. Their goal is not constructive engagement, but the complete elimination of racing. That makes them an unreliable source of
information on the sport.

Greyhounds are canine athletes who must receive excellent care in order to perform at their best. This includes good nutrition, plenty of water, frequent outdoor exercise and prompt veterinary care when needed. Greyhound crates must be large enough to allow the dogs to sit, stand, turn around and lie down comfortably.

The fact that greyhounds make such great family pets is the strongest evidence that they’ve been well managed during their racing careers. Today more than 90 percent of all registered greyhounds are adopted or returned to   farm as pets or breeders when they retire. Greyhound racing is working closely with mainstream adoption groups to reach the goal of 100 percent placement in the near future.

Unfortunately, the protests and publicity stunts of groups like ARFF and Grey2K contribute nothing to the welfare of greyhounds. If they focused on actually doing something that benefits greyhounds, they’d have a lot more credibility.

 

Jim Blanchard, District 1 Director, National Greyhound Association

President, Southern Florida Greyhound Association, Bonita Springs FL