Your help is needed, Florida residents! Governor Jeb Bush is now considering a bill that would expand gambling at greyhound racing tracks. Initially intended only to support greyhound racing adoption efforts, S.B. 160 was amended to benefit the racetrack owners, not the greyhounds. If signed into law by the governor, the bill would extend the gambling hours at tracks and also legalize high-stakes poker at the tracks--thereby providing the dying industry with a new source of income.
"The greyhound dog racing industry depends on the over-breeding and killing of thousands of greyhound dogs each year to operate," say the ASPCA's Debora Bresch, Eastern Region Government Affairs and Public Policy Associate. "They are killed because age, injury or lack of racing success has rendered them non-competitive--and thus unprofitable." It has also been alleged that while alive, greyhounds have little interaction with humans and are maintained on a diet of raw, diseased meat. Thousands of greyhounds never make it to their fourth birthday.
Florida residents, please visit the
ASPCA's Advocacy Center today to send a letter to Governor Bush asking him to veto S.B. 160. Your assistance is greatly needed to ensure that this bill does not become law. For more information, contact ASPCA Government Affairs and Public Policy at (212) 876-7700 X4550 or
government@aspca.org.
