Is Greyhound Racing Cruel? Ethics & Reasons Behind
By Adam Mann
Updated on
The first episode of The Simpsons opens up with Homer picking up Santa’s Little Helper from a greyhound racing track after the owner abuses the pup for losing too much. Unfortunately, this scene from The Simpsons isn’t too far off from the truth behind greyhound racing.
Greyhound racing is full of inhumane circumstances, and it’s a large reason why it’s currently illegal in 42 states 1. But why exactly is greyhound racing so cruel? We’ll break it all down for you here.
The 6 Reasons Why Greyhound Racing Is Cruel
The truth is that Greyhound racing is cruel, and there’s far more than one reason why it is. We’ve highlighted six reasons Greyhound racing is cruel for you, which is a significant reason why so many states have banned it.
1. The Spend 20+ Hours in a Cage Each Day
While you might think that top-performing greyhound pups would get plenty of time outside of cages to train and explore the world, that’s not the case. Most racing greyhounds spend at least 20 hours each day in a cage where they don’t get any kind of attention or exercise. These conditions are extremely inhumane, but it simply highlights how racing owners view these dogs as commodities, not animals.
2. Overbreeding
The world of greyhound racing is all about finding the fastest dog, and one way owners try to do this is through breeding. The more greyhounds you have, the more likely you will get a fast one.
The problem is that owners don’t care about the slower dogs. Owners view them as an inconvenience they need to dispose of. Unfortunately, because they breed so many dogs, they can’t get rid of them fast enough, and often the owners will euthanize slower dogs simply because they can’t keep up on the track.
3. Many Greyhounds Die While Racing
Owners push greyhounds to their absolute limit while on the track. It doesn’t matter if the greyhound can run that long or that fast without hurting themselves; it’s all about how fast they can push the animals to run. Often, this leads to the animals dying, but to greyhound racing owners, it’s all just a part of doing business.
4. Tons of Injuries
Injuries are extremely common on a greyhound racetrack. It all comes with pushing the dogs as fast as they can go. But since dogs that recover from these injuries can’t perform to the level owners want, they rarely get the care they need after an injury.
If a greyhound ends up hurt, it’s often a life-threatening condition simply because the owner won’t spend the money to treat it, no matter how much money the greyhound has already made them!
5. Short Racing Careers
While greyhounds can live more than 13 years, you’ll hardly ever see a greyhound on the track older than 5 years, and typically, dogs between 18 months and 3 years are more common. And once a greyhound’s racing career is over, they’re disposable to the owners.
Owners put down slower dogs that didn’t win many races, while faster dogs move back into cages where the owners can store them for breeding. It’s not much of a life for a greyhound whether they win or lose on the track.
6. Many Dogs Are on Drugs
While most greyhound tracks officially don’t allow dogs to use drugs as performance enhancers, this doesn’t stop many overzealous owners from doing it. It’s part of the reason so many dogs die on the track, as their bodies simply can’t keep up with running at max speed while having performance-enhancing drugs pushing their bodies even further.
Final Thoughts
While greyhound racing might seem innocent at first blush as you watch the pups run around the track, as soon as you start looking behind the scenes, it doesn’t take long to expose all the inhumane conditions that surround the sport.
If you’re looking for a fun way to spend Friday or Saturday night, find a better way to do it than by visiting a greyhound track.
Featured Image Credit: Irma07, Shutterstock
