Greyhound and Horse racing. Is there too much wastage of life?

Racing animals has been around for years and conditions are much better than they were back then BUT I strongly agree that there are still areas in need of review amd much more improvements need to be made to ensure better standards/welfare in all aspects of racing
animals,from the breeding,training,ownership,racing and finally retirement.
I will be perfectly honest that I don't have much to do with Greyhound racing,it actually has never appealled to me like that but I have watched it at times (never live) and I have heard about the awful accounts of what goes on behind the scenes both before,during and after racing.Greyhound racing certainly needs major help in most areas,it's standards are very poor compared to horses and it's no wonder that there is very little disregard for both the animals and the sport itself,within the circle,basically it needs a complete makeover.
I do however enjoy and have an infinity with horse racing particularly jump racing and I know that alot is done to ensure the standards and welfare of these beautiful animals,where ever
possible,indeed the 'Jockey Club','The Horse Racing Board',the 'RSPCA' and many other important associations are continuing to work together to better and improve racing on the whole.
There are now a good number of Thoroughbred rehabitation centres/homes that take on,re-train and re-home ex-racehorses and these often work in hand with many racecourses in the UK along with the Trainer & Owners Association,to deal with as many horses as possible.More of such homes are needed for there are many horses in training and many more in the wings waiting to make their debut but this is a good,positive start at least.
A majority of racing animals live a life of luxury,have wonderful caring owners and when injured are dutifully nursed back to health or humanely destroyed.
Of course it goes without saying that injuries/fatalities do occur both on the racecourse and sometimes when the horse is training back home.Where possible the animal will receieve the utmost care and veterinary intervention (no expense spared) and if possible will be able to return back to training if deemed fit enough by leading vets.
On the fatality side,sometimes racing goes through what we call 'Dark Days' and this is where a number of fatalities occur at any one race meeting...Yes this does occur and big race meetings like the 'Cheltenham festival',the 'Grand National','The Hennessy Cognac'
(just to name a few) are often seen as fatality hotspots.
Where this happens,all horses that are killed are taken away for post mortems so that the cause of death can be both identified and the injury analized as to what the cause was.
This way,adjustments & changes can be made to either tracks and/or fences in order to minimize another death and at all times animal welfare associations such as the RSPCA work alongside the racecourse in question,to complete these changes.
NO racecourse or racegoers want to see fatalities and many a cheer can always be heard from the stands when a stricken (winded) horse gets to it's feet and emerges out from behind those green screens.
It should be clearly stated that at all times, there are vets on any racecourse when meetings are being run.In the paddock before the race,ALL horses are examined by a vet and deemed fit for racing,they are then examined AGAIN down at the start and during the race itself,a vet and assistant will drive alongside the horses should an incident arise and they are required immediately at the scene.After the race,ALL horses are examined yet again to ensure all's well and that they are fit to travel home,any scrapes or cuts will be attended to
there and then at the course stables.
In the event that a stricken horse cannot be revived or has seriously injured itself and it is not feasibly treatable for whatever reason,then and ONLY then will a course vet humanely despatch the animal normally by a lethal injection.
There is nothing more moving than the sight of the horse's lad/lass returning from the course back to the stables with a bridle hanging from their hands and tears coursing down their faces...Yes the staff do get very attatched to their charges and where an animal has been racing for a few years,it has likely also got a public fan crowd as well....look at 'Persian
Punch' and dear 'Best mate',there was not a dry eye in the house,even the racing media was distraught,so yes..in many,many cases the loss of a horse is felt by all involved in the racing game and that is why so much work has been done and is being done to minimize
the risk and to try and prevent such fatalities occuring.
The argument could (and does) be said that if there was no racing,there would be no horse fatalities.......WRONG!.....Fatal injuries occur in all horse disciplines,show jumping,eventing,
hunting (the drag type),long distance riding,even normal hack riding,horses are always at risk .
I would rather see a beautiful proud racing animal die quickly and with dignity on a racecourse then see ponies off of the moors,sent to sales for an unpleasant journey over to Europe then slaughtered with no animal welfare standards enforced or hit by speeding cars
seriously injured and left to die a slow lingering death.
Where you have animals used in commidity,there is inevitably going to be wastage/death.
It is something that us humans will never be able to stop but we can at least try and work
together to make the quality of their lives humane and their end,dignified and I apply this
to ALL areas of animals not just one's used in sport.
Thank you for reading this article,I hope you can understand things a little better now.

Yes there is especially for greyhounds its unbelievable how they am treated after their sell by date so to speak. I have a leaflet that states a man shot and disposed of 10,000 greyhounds for the dog racing industry. And inside the leaflet there are pictures of greyhounds that have been starved,had ears hacked off to get rid of the owners tattoo,the pictures am like skeletons with just skin on and the other stories of them is scars from muzzels,tied up and beaten to death,ears cut off shot and dumped why still alive. So what do you say about greyhound racing now? do you still want to go in the leaflet it says to help write to your mp and newspaper about greyhound cruelty,offer them homes,collect signitures for campaignes and petitions for more info please visit www.greyhoundaction.org.uk or email info@greyhoundaction.org.uk.

At KGC we are extremely careful which greyhounds we place into cat homes. Mostly it is the younger dogs, who have had their initial race training and have shown no interest in chasing anything whatsoever. From time to time we also receive puppies into our care, which can grow up with the resident cat - it is usually the cat which puts the new youngster firmly in it's place! I have two greyhounds of my own - Hazel was very good at racing and is very keen for anything small and fluffy, Aspen was retired after only 4 trial races and would happily go for walks with our neighbours cat tagging along behind. I am sorry you have had a very unpleasant experience with the dog you adopted. Some literature does state that you can desensitize a dog not to chase cats - however, my own personal opinion is that if the dog was born with a chase instinct then it will always be there. We do have greys that have been living in cat homes for many years with no problems, but these dogs are probably the exception not the rule. We would never pass off a grey as being suitable to live with cats unless we were 100% sure that all would be well - being a cat lover myself that is the last thing I would want to happen. And yes, you are right, greyhound racing sucks!

I understand what you are saying and your point is true across all animals not just dogs as all animals have different temperament. But greyhounds are bred to chase and kill small mammals. This is prominent more in retired racers. This was my point as it is hard to rehome ex racers. At one point my family were fairly involved with the rehoming of greyhounds as we rehomed one ourselves. During a period of a year to my memory about 4 of the 6 or so greyhounds rehomed were sent back because they killed another pet, in one instance a small terrier was killed on a park. I'm not wanting to put people of rehoming them but to say a small majority is ridiculous and is the type of propaganda that caused my family to rehome a greyhound under the guidance by the trust that the dog had never been trained to race and would be perfectly fine with our cats. We tried everything training method in the book not wanting to give up on the dog, then about 6months after rehoming the dog it broke out into the garden and mauled to death the our much loved family cat!!!
So please do not try and tell me that i am giving a bad image to greyhounds. I hate the racing as its not the dogs fault they are bred to chase, and i am sure they make great pets but do not try and pass them off as being able to be homed up with other small pets, as in my eyes its like trying to get a snake and mouse to live together you cannot stop an animal that is bred purely to chase. I hate posting malicious comments but it angers me wen animals are packaged up as something there not. I know some greyhounds are fine with cats but supposedly ours was as well. And i'm sure the other owners that had tragedys occur were told this as well. Yes lovely photos of greyhounds with cats but maybe people should also be shown what greyhounds can do to cats/rabbits. It is to large a risk if you ask me not only the greyhounds life is at stake.
rant over

I feel I have to reply to Matt's comment that greyhounds are dangerous animals! At Kerry Greyhound Connection we come across a wide range of greyhound personalities. Yes, some greys cannot live with cats or small dogs, but this can also happen with other breeds of dog. We have many of our adopted dogs living in perfect harmony with cats, which can be seen by visiting the photo gallery on our website www.kerrygreyhounds.co.uk. It is throw away comments like Matt's which give greyhounds the totally wrong image and makes our job so much harder. Greyhounds make greyt pets!

i personally believe that both "sports" should be banned anyway. regardless of the fact that there are so many animals who don't make the grade who are destroyed or left with very uncertain futures, the ones that are used for racing don't get a good life anyway! they are raced too young so their bones are underdeveloped (certainly in horses anyway) and steeplechasing is horrific with so many horses injured and put down.

That was a very well written article.
Banned all greyhond raciing!
Greyhound are not dangerous animals, i have 4 of them and also 2 cats. No problem with that.

Obviously the numbers of greyhounds suffering is more than horses since they produce more off-spring. However, the horse racing industry is pretty horrendous. They received more than £100,000,000 in 2005/6 but spent olnly £54,000(!!!) on rehabilitation and retraining. I remember seeing a documentary a few years ago which traced a horse which came from H.M.'s racing stable and ended up in a very sorry state at a run-down riding establishment in Belgium - and he was one of the lucky ones!

Hi Cassie
I am not sure who campaigns against this - I will ask a friend of mine who was the person who alerted me to this practice.
There must be people who are lobbying for an end to shipping our greyhounds abroad - I know huge lorries take dogs over to Ireland from where they eventually go to spain.

Thank you, Peter, for the information about grehound racing in Spain. I had no idea. After reading your comment, I looked on Google for more information about the practice of hanging greyhounds or "galgos' in Spain, and am still in shock about the deliberate sadism with which hundreds of these dogs are killed every year. Do you know if there is anything practical I could do to assist anyone who is campaigning to change this and to help these dogs?

I would advise anyone else reading this posting to look up more information on the internet and to be in no doubt about the scale of the cruelty.