Success: Florida Bans Greyhound Racing

Target: Rick Scott, Governor of Florida

Goal: Find new homes for greyhounds following a commendable ban on the practice of dog racing in Florida.

On average, one greyhound dies every three days on a Florida dog racing track. Florida is home to eleven of seventeen legal greyhound race tracks in the United States. For years, activists have fought to ban the practice of greyhound racing, citing the harsh living conditions, cruel training practices and high number of race-related deaths. Since 2013, when the state of Florida started tracking and publicizing dog racing deaths, 500 greyhound deaths have been documented. This is unacceptable and barbaric.

Thanks to this ForceChange petition and the actions of other activist coalitions, on November 6, 2018, the citizens of Florida overwhelmingly voted to back a measure banning greyhound racing and shutting down the eleven tracks operating in the state by the end of 2020. This gives Florida a two-year window to find proper homes for the 3,700 racing greyhounds that currently call Florida home. While many dogs will be placed for adoption, the Greyhound Adoption Action Alliance estimates that of these 3,700 dogs, close to half will go on to race somewhere else in the world rather than be retired from the sport.

This ban on greyhound racing will aid in reducing the number of dogs subjected to the cruelties of race life. Florida has moved forward to join the growing number of states and countries that have outlawed dog racing in recent years. Sign the petition below to applaud the work done to pass this new amendment, and demand that Florida legislators craft a comprehensive plan to rescue and re-home the state’s greyhound dogs.

PETITION LETTER:

Governor Scott,

Following a hard push by grassroots movements aimed at banning the cruel practices of dog racing in the state of Florida, the November 6th vote put in place a new law banning dog racing and shutting down the existing greyhound tracks in the state by the end of 2020. We applaud the work done by those groups to raise awareness and thank the citizens of Florida for voting to end this barbaric sport.

This new legislation will leave an estimated 3,700 greyhound race dogs in a precarious situation. While some may be transferred to other race tracks around the world to continue racing, many will be abandoned or put up for adoption. We demand that you make sure these dogs are rescued and re-homed appropriately.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]