Your help is needed to prevent the coming of commercial dog racing to India. It has been reported that the state of Punjab would like to build a track should greyhound gambling racing be legalized.
Chairperson of Beauty Without Cruelty India is asking animal advocates around the world to join her in fighting for the greyhounds. GREY2K USA, along with several organizations including the International Organisation for Animal Protection - OIPA in India / People for Animals (PFA) Haryana and the United Kingdom's Dogs Trust have each contacted government officials.
Now we ask you to join us by doing two things today:
1. Add your name to the petition below to the Chief Minister of Punjab.
2. Send a personal message to the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal, at secretarydcm@gmail.com. Tell him to say no to dog racing.
I urge you to block plans to bring dog racing to the state of Punjab and to honor the prohibition on dog racing in India.
In the United States, greyhound racing is a dying industry that is inherently cruel to dogs. Each year, thousands of greyhounds are injured, and many die from their injuries. They suffer broken legs, broken backs, paralysis, cardiac arrest, seizures and more. Many others are simply destroyed for lack of homes.
Economically, dog racing is also a dying industry. Since 2001, more than half of operating tracks in the U.S. have been shut down for live racing. The latest figures available from the Association of Racing Commissioners International show that the amount of money wagered on greyhound racing declined by 42% in the years 2002-2007. State revenue declined by more than 44% during this same period. Overall, commercial dog racing has experienced such a catastrophic decline that it now represents less than 1% of all wagers made each year in the United States.
As of 2011, dog racing is illegal in the majority of the United States. The Territory of Guam recently joined this humane trend, as have Jamaica and South Africa in refusing to legalize dog racing in the first place.
Please join the humane movement for greyhounds worldwide and keep this ugly activity out of your lovely country.
