Friday, October 31, 2008

Massachusetts Question 3 - Common Sense and Real Solutions

Vote NO on Question 3, and adopt a racing Greyhound.

Despite standing invitations from the tracks, the MSPCA refuses go to the track; they won't examine the truth of the matter. But that hasn't stopped them (and similarly focused groups) from maligning the tracks and labeling the lifestyle as "cruel" to the dogs.

Whatever you might think about the tracks and their business, the reality is that common sense and real solutions are not coming from the 'animal rights' fringe, but from the tracks themselves... imagine that.



I know two NGA breeders personally, one of them, extremely well. NGA breeders are in the business of dogs for profit. Of that there is no question. And some of them make a very good living at it. We can debate the relative morality of that all day long.

Beyond that, these men (and women) care for their dogs. Their husbandry is impeccable. Their dogs are their lively hood, yes, but apart from that, they genuinely care for their dogs. In many ways, their greyhounds actually live better than I do.

The thing people fail to understand is that NGA dogs are worth ridiculous amounts of money. If you owned a dog that you could sell at any time during its competitive career for 5 figures, would you do anything to harm that dog? If you had a high achieving NGA stud dog whose semen will be worth 6 figures over the course of his life, would you take special care of that dog?

In almost every way that counts, it's much like the Thoroughbred world. The real issue is the end game. Like so many Thoroughbred's who went to meat processors at their retirement, many NGA greyhounds were euthanized at retirement. In today's version of the game however, most NGA greyhounds are placed as house pets in retirement. A small portion are also placed in ASFA/LGRA homes.

NGA greyhounds have a great life. This is the reality. The agendized AR contingent doesn't won't to be bothered with the truth, especially when it contravenes their world-view. As long as the NGA exists, the AR activists will demonize the tracks, the trainers, the breeders, and the spectators.

So they can continue to make noise, but it doesn't change the fact that if we come back as dogs, we would do very well to come back as NGA greyhounds.