The peninsula of Macau is home to a single dog track called the Canidrome. At the Canidrome, nearly 400 greyhounds are put to death every year.
According to the Macau Daily Times, dogs race four times a week. If they finish outside the top three in five races in a row, they are destroyed. The head of Macau's animal control department has stated that every greyhound arriving at the track is dead within three years. An average of thirty new dogs arrives each month from Australia.
Sign our petition now and help us send a strong message to Macau's leadership today.
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to you to ask to publicly support a prohibition on dog racing in Macau.
News reports worldwide describe the deaths of nearly 400 greyhounds at the Canidrome each year. According to the advocacy group Greytexploitations, dogs are imported from Australia at a rate of thirty per month, and an equal number is killed. Dr. Choi U. Fai, the head of Macau animal control department lacks authority to protect these dogs and his job reportedly consists of overseeing first the import, and then the destruction, of all Canidrome dogs. According to Dr. Choi and as reported by Greytexploitations, the situation is terrible and every greyhound arriving at the track is dead within three years.
As you know, a draft animal cruelty law was presented to the public for consideration in 2007, but thus far the Macau government has not taken it up. In the absence of such a law, and in the interests of putting an immediate stop to the senseless killing of greyhounds, we ask that you introduce a bill to ban dog racing immediately.
The decline of greyhound racing has been ongoing for years, and media outlets have long reported the spiraling collapse of this industry. According to the Association of Racing Commissioners International, an industry association, gambling on greyhounds declined by 42% from 2002-2007.
This includes both gambling on live greyhound racing and simulcast betting, where bettors wager remotely on dog races taking place elsewhere. Not only have humane concerns come to the forefront, but competition from other forms of gambling has forced tracks to close. Since 2001, twenty-six American tracks have shut down operations, cutting our local industry in half.
Recently, greyhound protection group GREY2K USA worked with officials in Guam to successfully bring a dog racing prohibition into law there. Please consult with them so they can provide example language and provide further information and assistance.
As long as greyhound racing continues, greyhounds will suffer. Please help end this terrible cruelty in Macau.
