On 4 November voters in Massachusetts will get the opportunity to end the inherent cruelty of greyhound racing in the state. Laurence Van Atten in IAR’s US office has been working for the past year as a coordinator on the campaign in favour of The Greyhound Protection Act. Volunteers have collected more than 150,000 signatures in support of the Act which would phase out the last two racing tracks by 2010.
The campaign video contains damning evidence of the miserable lives led by the greyhounds. The dogs spend more than 20 hours each day in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. Since 2002 more than 800 greyhounds have been injured while racing in Massachusetts and nearly 80% of these injuries involved broken legs. Other reported injuries include paralysis, death from cardiac arrest and broken necks.
International Animal Rescue is urging the people of Massachusetts to support The Greyhound Protection Act by watching the campaign video and spreading the word to as many voters as possible. “Now is the time,” says Laurence Van Atten, “to put an end to the confinement of these dogs and the crippling injuries they suffer on the race track. Our message to the people of Massachusetts is please vote YES on 3 and spare the lives of countless beautiful dogs.”