PDA

View Full Version : Florida outlaws Greyhound racing




specsaregood
11-07-2018, 11:08 AM
Man this is a shame. Going to the dogtrack was one of my highlights of living in FL. Looks like we'll have to go again next time we are in FL, I don't want it to be another fun thing that my kid never has the chance to witness.

Hell, I proposed to my wife after a night at the dog track.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/audience/george-diaz/os-ae-greyhound-racing-amendment-13-vote-20181106-story.html



Florida voters wrapped their arms around greyhounds on election night, overwhelmingly supporting an amendment that bans commercial dog racing.
Amendment 13 won approval from roughly 5.4 million Floridians with a 69-31 percent victory — well above the 60 percent approval needed to pass.
The Committee to Protect Dogs, which lobbied for the racing ban, called it “a knock-out blow to a cruel industry that has been hurting and killing dogs for nearly a century.”

Since Florida has 11 of the nation’s 17 remaining active dog tracks, Amendment 13’s passage appears to mean that the industry will be all but “swept away in the night,” said Carey Theil, executive director of GREY2K USA, one of the leading backers of the ban.
“The historical consequences of this are incredibly significant,” Theil said. “We’re seeing one of the highest approvals of any animal welfare measure in the nation.”

The tracks — including the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club in Longwood — will have until January 2021 to phase out greyhound racing.
“Because of the decisions of millions of Florida voters, thousands of dogs will be spared the pain and suffering that is inherent in the greyhound racing industry,” said Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “We are so grateful to the volunteers, campaign members, coalition partners, contributors and endorsers who came together in support of this historic effort to end the cruelty of greyhound racing.”

Powerful forces were rallying on both sides of the debate. It was a dog-fight, literally, pitting Grey2K USA, the largest greyhound protection organization in the world, against dog-racing proponents who had some unlikely allies on their side. That would include a number of greyhound adoption groups.

That cast of strange bedfellows led to accusations that the dog-racing industry is putting the squeeze on rescue groups: Support us or you won’t get any dogs.

The political universe also pitted some unlikely foes: Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Tampa Republican and animal advocate, and Laura Trump, daughter-in-law of president Donald Trump, vs. Marion Hammer, the NRA’s chief lobbyist and one of the most influential voices in Tallahassee.
“This is a black eye on our state,” Bondi said in support of the amendment, which was approved by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission by a vote of 27-10.

Bondi cited a number of alleged incidents in which dogs have been injured or abused, noting that 419 greyhounds have tested positive for illegal drugs, including cocaine, over the last decade.

Trump held a number of fundraisers and actively lobbied for the ban.
“These dogs are in cages 23 hours a day,” she said in an interview with the Palm Beach Post recently. “As a Republican and as a dog lover, I said here’s something you can do that’s great for business, great for taxpayers ... and you’re giving a chance to all these dogs here who otherwise are going to be in a really sad, deplorable conditions.”

Hammer fired off an email alert to members in advance of the November election, slamming the amendment.
“Clearly the intent is to establish a legal foothold in the Florida Constitution that they can use to go after legitimate activities, like hunting, that they don’t like,” Hammer said in the email alert.

CaptUSA
11-07-2018, 11:41 AM
This is the problem with these kinds of ballot initiatives... You have very few people that engage in the activity and lots of people who don't. Hmmm, let's have a vote on whether or not we let the government continue to allow the pastime.


Trump's Daughter-In-Law:

Trump held a number of fundraisers and actively lobbied for the ban.
“These dogs are in cages 23 hours a day,” she said in an interview with the Palm Beach Post recently. “As a Republican and as a dog lover, I said here’s something you can do that’s great for business, great for taxpayers ... and you’re giving a chance to all these dogs here who otherwise are going to be in a really sad, deplorable conditions.” Yeah, well, now they'll be dead. Great improvement there, missy.

Brian4Liberty
11-07-2018, 11:44 AM
A guy I know “rescued” a greyhound. It didn’t have enough room to run, and one day it ran into the street and was killed by a truck.

nobody's_hero
11-07-2018, 12:30 PM
I guess the moral of the story is, be careful what you put on a ballot initiative. Like the California gas tax.