Written by Michelle Kretzer
Google goes gaga for vegan food, learn how to show bunnies some love this Valentine's Day, and help us ask Florida not to change its slogan to "The Hoarder State." Here's everything in PETA's world that you might have missed this week.
Don't miss any breaking animal rights stories. Hop on over to PETA's Tumblr page for the latest:
Written by PETA
Ronnie Williams starved 34 greyhounds to death and will spend five years behind bars—the maximum allowed—after pleading guilty to 39 felony counts of cruelty to animals. Five other dogs in Williams' "care" at Florida's Ebro Greyhound Park were found barely alive. PETA had pushed for the most stringent penalty for Williams.
Racing greyhounds typically spend their entire lives in cramped cages and are kept muzzled at all times. These gentle dogs rarely know the comfort of a kind word or a gentle touch. When too old, injured, or tired to continue racing, the dogs are often discarded like garbage.
If you live in Arizona, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, or Iowa—the last seven states where greyhounds are still forced to race—click here to contact our Action Team to find out what you can do to fight this cruel "sport."
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Officials responding to a complaint about the smell of decaying animals at Florida's Ebro Greyhound Park found 33 dead and decomposing dogs who had apparently starved to death as well as four more dogs who were near death. Racer Ronald Williams was arrested and charged with 37 counts of felony cruelty to animals in connection with what the county sheriff says is one of the most disturbing cases of animal abuse his department has ever investigated. Williams had apparently abandoned the dogs to die when the racing season ended.
Greyhounds want nothing more than to snuggle on the couch and be part of a family, but those used in racing live in cramped cages and are muzzled most of the time. Illnesses and injuries—including broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks—claim the lives of many dogs. When they're too old or slow to continue, greyhounds are thrown away like garbage.
But thanks to the efforts of PETA and other animal rights groups, 25 tracks have closed in the U.S. alone since 2001, and Barbados, Guam, Haiti, and Indonesia have all shuttered their tracks. PETA Asia is fighting hard to keep greyhound racing out of the Philippines.
Please share this story on Facebook with all your friends, and help spread the word about this cruel industry.
Break out your victory dance because lawmakers in New Hampshire have voted to ban dog racing! Once the Governor signs the bill into law greyhounds in the Granite State will be spared the stone-cold cruelty of broken legs, long hours in cramped kennels, heatstroke, and heart attacks and of being abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories when they are no longer able to run.
BTW—the word on the street is that Rhode Island will soon follow suit. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please urge the remaining states that still allow greyhounds to be exploited for profit and amusement to ditch dog racing.
Via GREY2K USA
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
We are barely a week into 2010, and it's already shaping up to be a winning year—for greyhounds in Massachusetts, that is.
Thanks to voters who passed a dog-racing ban in the state, forcing dogs to participate in these cruel and pointless events is now illegal, and the law went into effect, rather appropriately, on New Year's Day.
This victory has been a long-time coming for these animals—greyhounds' natural speed and grace have been exploited for human benefit since the days of the ancient Egyptians. Thousands of greyhounds are killed each year as the declining dog-racing industry struggles to stay alive. Puppies are killed in the name of "selective breeding" before they ever touch a racetrack, and dogs who do qualify to become racers typically live in cages and are kept muzzled by their trainers at all times. And once the dogs who are forced to race are no longer able to run, many are abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories.
Thankfully, Massachusetts has realized that 2010 is the year to create new traditions—ones that don't involve the needless suffering of animals for human amusement. Now to get the last eight states that still allow this exploitation to make a similar resolution.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Back in December, we spread some holiday cheer with news that a greyhound racetrack in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, had closed. Today we are celebrating Independence Day for all greyhounds used in racing in New Hampshire, because the last two dog tracks in the state have stopped racing greyhounds!
Greyhounds in the Granite State will now be spared routine racetrack horrors, which include long hours in cramped kennels, broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks, and being abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories when their racing days are through. Break out the bubbly and join us as we toast this victory.
One state down, nine to go …
Written by Karin Bennett
Movie fans can have a White Christmas (if they like sentiment) or a Black Christmas (if they like horror). Music fans can enjoy a "Blue Christmas." Now, fans of animal protection can have a Grey Christmas—as in greyhounds.
That's right. What could be a better gift this holiday season than to learn about the bankruptcy and closure of another greyhound racing park, this one in Hinsdale, New Hampshire (just two left in New Hampshire now! Come on team, let's stop them both next!). More than a half-century of animal abuse in Hinsdale—first horses, then dogs—will come to an end. Who wouldn't want to find that under the tree? (Or, better yet, for eight nights over Hanukkah!)
Now, some of you may be thinking, "What's the big deal? Don't greyhounds love to run?" Here's the 411: Dogs who are used in races spend most of their days stuck in cramped cages or kennels and suffer other abuses, just for a few minutes on a track during a race. Thousands of greyhounds are killed each year before they ever touch a racetrack, and many more will be killed when they fail to "perform." Injuries and sickness, including broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks, claim the lives of many more.
In fact, few dogs make it to the supposed "retirement' age of 4 or 5, and only a fraction of the discarded dogs are placed in homes through greyhound adoption groups. The rest may be killed or sold to laboratories. To learn more, check this out. So yeah, still think they "love to run?"
The Hinsdale closure comes after the park had already cut back on the number of racing days due to "falling attendance." Clearly, people are getting the picture about dog and horse racing and staying away. Yet some folks are trying to prop up the racing industry by putting slot machines at tracks to lure more people. Um, hello? Wouldn't it make more sense to just open a casino and do away with racing altogether (as the good people of Massachusetts recently approved).
Let's end dog- and horse-racing. 'Tis the season!
Written by Jeff Mackey
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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