Good news from New Hampshire on the Animal Welfare front:
"Governor John Lynch has signed into law House Bill 630, a humane proposal to outlaw greyhound racing in New Hampshire. New Hampshire now joins a majority of states where greyhound racing is illegal.My favorite framework for thinking about policy issues is to define the interests at stake and then weigh them. The best policy minimizes harm to all of the competing interests while advancing the benefit. In this case, we would weigh the interests of (1) animal welfare against (2) entertainment. Thus, while it's true that greyhound racing isn't as cruel as other animal exploitations like industrial farming practices, it is weighed against a very arbitrary benefit and some animals are inevitably injured, euthanized, or sold to research labs during their careers. There are countless ways to entertain ourselves, but only so many types of food to eat. Similarly arbitrary forms of animal exploitation include circuses and cosmetic testing on animals.
"This is a victory for everyone in the state who cares about animals. It sends a clear message that we will not tolerate cruelty, regardless of whether the perpetrator is an individual or a profit-driven industry.
"Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane. At New Hampshire racetracks thousands of dogs endured lives of terrible confinement and many suffered serious injuries. According to state records, nearly 1,200 greyhounds were injured in New Hampshire since 2005, including dogs that suffered broken legs, paralysis, and head trauma."
My dog's not a greyhound, but she is a chocolate lab and hound mutt mix (and adorable):
Your chocolate lab is indeed beautiful and fortunate that she doesn't have a past career as a racing greyhound.
ReplyDeleteMost likely she wasn't dosed with steroids or cocaine, wasn't fed raw 4D meat, and wasn't confined for hours on end.
I agree that with entertainment there are many choices where dogs don't suffer painful injuries or euthanasia or god knows what else. People who like to gamble can still do so without propping up the dying dog racing industry.
I couldn't have said it better myself, Karyn. The drug aspect didn't even occur to me, but duh, I should have thought of that.
ReplyDeleteAre you affiliated with GREY2KUSA? I noticed your name linked to the site so I put a link at the top of my post. (Probably a good idea anyway.)
Chris,
ReplyDeleteYes, I am a new board member for GREY2K USA. I decided to align myself with a group that so deeply fights for the same things that I believe in -- ending greyhound racing.
Thank you for permitting my comment and linking to GREY2K USA. The more people who know about their work and can get involved, the sooner we can collectively end greyhound racing.
The movie Edward Scissorhands is a favorite of mine too.