Paws Up! To CA Representative Tony Cardenas for re-introducing H.R. 3335, the Greyhound Protection Act of 2021.
July 16, 2021
After a year fraught with uncertainty amid the pandemic, California Congressman Tony Cardenas has re-introduced H.R. 3335, The Greyhound Protection Act. This bill would phase out all live dog racing in the United States. Currently, only three states still have active dog tracks–Arkansas, West Virginia and Iowa. Arkansas is closing its last track by December 31, 2022.
Greyhound racing has plagued American society for over one hundred years, with the first commercial greyhound track opening in California in 1919. Over the course of only a decade, nearly seventy greyhound racing tracks were functioning across the United States. Since the 1990’s, greyhound gambling has declined in popularity, largely due to animal welfare organizations, like NHES, helping to educate the public about the dark realities of the sport. In 2018, NHES supported and applauded Florida citizens as they overwhelmingly approved Florida Amendment 13 and banned commercial dog racing in their state.
As more and more states pass legislation to end dog racing, a few states like West Virginia and Iowa are holding out as long as they can. Congressmen like Tony Cardenas have decided that enough is enough, and have introduced a bill that would ban greyhound racing nationwide.
Here are just some of the cruelties involved in the greyhound racing industry:
- Racing greyhounds have no families. They are leased or owned by a kennel who contracts with commercial racetracks.
- Racing greyhounds spend most of their non-racing time confined to small crates, devoid of opportunities to play with toys, socialize, or receive obedience training.
- Rabbits are still used as lures to train greyhounds.
- The careers of racing greyhounds last only a few years. After dogs can no longer race, a few lucky ones find adoptive homes.