The Great Bend Towards Justice

Nearly two centuries ago, abolitionist Theodore Parker gave voice to the idea that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice. Although I believe this to be true, change can also be disappointingly slow.

Saving Greys has been silent for several months, because I have been deeply engaged in fights to help greyhounds in several states. The legislative season is almost over, and the greyhound protection community did win important victories, including a $2 million reduction in dog race subsidies in West Virginia.

At the same time, I'm deeply disappointed by the work that has been left undone. Although the Florida Senate unanimously passed a greyhound injury reporting law, the House never followed suit. Greyhound decoupling passed three Florida committees, but never advanced to the floor of either chamber. Meanwhile, Lawmakers in Oregon and Connecticut neglected to vote on proposals to outlaw dog racing.

Of course, not ever year can be like 2014, when we helped pass multiple major pieces of legislation to help greyhounds and end dog racing. Still, it's easy to be frustrated when we see greyhound continue to suffer while change is delayed.

It's important to keep in mind that commercial greyhound racing has existed for more than eight decades. After its introduction in Florida in 1931, it took the industry a full sixty years to peak. At its high point, dog racing was legal and operational in nineteen states, and roughly $3.5 billion was bet on greyhound races nationwide.

Today, the industry has shrunk to only 21 tracks in seven states. In the two decades between 1991 and 2012, the most recent year we have data for, gambling on greyhound racing fell by 81%. Similarly, since 2012 betting on dog races in Florida, where twelve tracks are located, declined by a further 6.5%.

It's also very notable that the movement to end greyhound racing has gone global. There are now active campaigns to reform or end greyhound racing in Great Britain, Australia, Macau and New Zealand. Just last week John Kaye, Greens Member of the New South Wales Parliament, introduced the first ever bill to outlaw dog racing Down Under. He has launched an informative web page and petition, and deserves our support.

Every year, we grow stronger while the commercial greyhound racing industry grows weaker. GREY2K USA now has more than 100,000 supporters worldwide. We have an expanding team of researchers and advocates, and have established key relationships with allies like the ASPCA, Humane Society of the United States, League Against Cruel Sports and Animals Australia.

Meanwhile, dog race promoters have added nothing substantive to the debate. Their cynical strategy of personal attacks has failed, and their cruel industry is slowly slipping away one day at a time.

The moral arc of the universe does bend towards justice, and we are winning the fight to end greyhound racing. Although it pains us to see the daily suffering of racing dogs, we must be patient and stay the course.

A New Hope for British Greyhounds

For decades, greyhounds have suffered and died in Great Britain. There are 33 commercial tracks in the country, and more than 7,500 greyhounds were registered to race in 2013. In recent years one humane problem after another has been documented, and as a result there is an active grassroots movement fighting to outlaw the industry.

At GREY2K USA Worldwide, we stand in solidarity with these grassroots groups. At the same time, we are excited by the emergence of a new voice for British greyhounds. The League Against Cruel Sports is an effective, established, savvy organization. Formed in 1924, the League advocates for animals through many means, including investigations, campaigning, and lobbying.

Three weeks ago, GREY2K USA Worldwide President Christine Dorchak and I joined the League at a special event in Parliament, where we released a joint report. The State of Greyhound Racing in Great Britain covers humane, economic and regulatory issues. It also calls for the following changes:

• A public review, by lawmakers, of current greyhound welfare regulations.

• Independent regulation of the greyhound industry. Right now, the industry regulates itself, a policy that has proven to be disastrous.

• Full public reporting on greyhound injuries, breeding, import and export, transport, daily living conditions, retirement, adoption and euthanasia.

• A prohibition on the use of anabolic steroids to prevent estrus in female greyhounds.

• A moratorium on the opening of any new dog tracks.

• A system to track every racing greyhound, from birth to death.

• A legal requirement that every racing greyhound ultimately be adopted.

• New licensing requirements for greyhound breeding.

These are all common sense measures that will help thousands of dogs. More importantly, they will begin to lift the veil of secrecy that now shrouds the greyhound industry.

This is the industry's last chance. It can either make real reforms or face a full-blown campaign that will not stop until commercial dog racing is prohibited. Either way, I'm convinced that change is inevitable in Great Britain. There is now a broad based coalition for the dogs, a partnership of grassroots advocates from all over the country joined with an effective national organization.

This coalition has already made an impact: the release of a landmark report, a powerful video, and the launch of an official government petition that already has nearly 15,000 signatures. These are the first achievements for a campaign that has the potential to move mountains.

The British greyhound racing industry has nowhere to run, and can no longer hide.

A Global Campaign to Help Greyhounds

On Saturday night I had the honor of announcing GREY2K USA Worldwide, a new international effort to end the cruelty of greyhound racing.

For this special occasion, I was joined by GREY2K USA President Christine Dorchak, our Australian director Jeroen van Kernebeek, and League Against Cruel Sports CEO Joe Duckworth. Surrounded by a room of friends and allies, we reflected on the victories we have already won and the work we have left to do.

In the official announcement, we described our improbable journey which began as a defeated local ballot question committee:

"Twelve years ago, Christine Dorchak and I formed GREY2K USA with an absurd notion, that ordinary citizens could bring about change ... we started with very little. We did not have an endowment, or a powerful backer, or a team of experienced staff members. Instead, we had a tiny office with no windows, a small but committed Board of Directors, and a dream. A dream we had lived through, in which we had given the greyhounds a voice, and stood up to two of the most powerful tracks in the country, before finally losing one of the closest ballot questions in state history."

We then outlined the progress that has been made so far:

"A dozen years later, we have ended greyhound racing in New England. The number of active dog tracks in the U.S. has been cut from 48 to 21, with the remaining tracks on the verge of collapse. Despite this success, our work is not over. We must continue to fight until dogs no longer live in cages, no longer suffer injuries, and are no longer discarded, for an industry built on greed and denial."

Finally we made the announcement about our transition:

"We are here tonight, because we are also called to help greyhounds in other parts of the world ... GREY2K USA Worldwide will seek to give greyhounds a global voice, because the greyhounds in London and Sydney are just as important as the greyhounds in Miami and Des Moines ... this is a global industry of cruelty, and it deserves a global response."

All over the world, there are grassroots groups and non-profit organizations who are striving to give greyhounds a voice. By working together, we can send a message that regardless of where it exists, the cruelty of greyhound racing will not be tolerated.