Not a clue and not a care just about sums up the antis and their BS bingo

Wales and Scotland to 'ban' greyhound racing

Here we go again. 

We seem to have gone over the same ground so many times in recent years that it's starting to resemble the fields at the end of the National Ploughing Championships. But perhaps what has happened this week in Wales and Scotland is going to be the wake-up call the BHA needs to finally join forces with greyhound racing to fight the untruths that are out there before horse racing takes the brunt of it. . . 

As an overweight, middle-aged asthmatic, however, I won't hold my breath.

If there is one thing that the votes to ban greyhound racing in Wales and Scotland have displayed all too clearly again this week, it's the rabid ignorance of those rejoicing the end of the sport in those two parts of the world.

They have been hailed as "stunning victories" by our old buddies at Grey2K. But what, exactly, has been achieved? 

The Wales decision is subject to appeal as part of the judicial review process and Scotland had one flapping track which has not raced for a year. In short then, nothing much. The only surprise is that they didn't tweet a link to donate to their coffers alongside the news.

That's the issue with echo chambers though - drown out any dissenting voices and bask in your own unchecked arrogance that you could not possibly, under any circumstances, be wrong. 

We try not to block too many on social media here as everyone is entitled to an opinion, no matter how misguided, but sometimes you just have to mute their drivel and get on with your day!

It's nothing more than a performative, self-congratulatory attempt at moral superiority from a group of people who would struggle to work out which end barks and which end craps.

They have certainly never been inside a racing kennel to see how the dogs tick.

They have never held a lead while trying to dress an excitable puppy in racing jacket and muzzle, felt the quiver of anticipatory excitement as they set their head out of the kennel area and pull their way to the track with front legs off the ground. 

What makes it more laughable is that those suffering from the worst cases of White Knight Syndrome are the most vocal when it comes to claiming that they speak for the dogs. 

Unfortunately that's the most embarrassing side effect of WKS, and one that is most apparent away from greyhound racing as well. 'We're not interested in your real life experience, we know better than you do.'

Except, of course, they don't. 

They are experts in knowing what everyone else should do, how they should act, the way that they should think. It is nothing short of a Kool-Aid drinking cult, brain washing those who haven’t the brain cells to rub together to spark the smallest of original thought.

They are all reading off the same sheet with identical carbon-copy nonsense on it. For those who can listen to an anti interview all the way though without retching at their ignorance, play a game we like to call BS bingo. The same nonsense trotted out by every one of them. That's what happens in cults, keep repeating the same lie until you think it's the truth.

As each of these things is said, and they will be, give them a tick and play along at home. 

Forcing greyhounds to race

This one always gets me. When it comes to the canine scale of stubbornness, greyhounds are right at the top. The same people who claim that greyhounds are forced to race are the ones on social media putting up posts of their greyhound refusing to walk through puddles or out in the rain. 

So, you firmly believe that although you can't get your dog to walk or even go outside when it's wet, we can 'force' them to race? Get out of here with that nonsense. 

Or, 'they love to run but not to race'. How precisely do you know? That's what we get all the time, 'do they tell you that they love to run?' Well...yes, yes they do! Body language is an easy thing to study and being hands on with them every day would tell us what they do and don't like. 

Speaking of body language, those 'cute' videos of your greyhounds dressed up like Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, have you asked them if they like it?

The obsession with oval tracks

This is a relatively new one but is now mentioned in every post, every interview, 'racing at speed on oval tracks.' This ties in nicely with the figures from the sport that we are beaten over the head with of injuries and deaths. 

I don't mind straight track racing, but the distances are shorter as it is flat out, taking more out of a dog than racing around an oval track will. They can argue that oval tracks are unsafe until they are blue in the face but they are much safer than letting your dog off the lead in the park.

To make it worse, there are videos all over social media of those who have 'rescued' dogs having them chase around after a remote controlled car. So running on a specially prepared oval is wicked, having them do sharp turns on rutted fields is good, gotcha!

Of course, it is all down to the transparency of the figures that are misrepresented over and over again. We have covered the minor injuries that have to be noted after races which make up the vast majority of the numbers quoted but they are still deliberately used without that context as they are headline makers. 

Money, money, money

Oh aye, we're only in it for the money! This is one of the most common arguments put forward by any anti and shows their complete and utter lack of understanding of the sport. 

To those antis reading this (and I know you do) phone up a trainer and ask how much it costs to keep a greyhound fed and exercised for a month. Then take a look at any random 20 out of the 99% of the greyhound population that are graders and work out how much prize-money they won in a month. Take one from the other and you'll find a loss of money.

Of course, you won't do that because, God forbid, you're wrong!

We do this as owners, trainers, kennelstaff because the greyhound is a majestic animal to watch in motion. The photos that Steve Nash and other photographers take of the double suspension gallop in action are sensational. A greyhound at full flight, and it is flight, is a sight that those of us who love watching them race adore.

There are some people who are associated with greyhounds that are swimming round like Scrooge McDuck, but that is not a conversation that those who have had more name changes than the city of Plovdiv would be wanting to have out in the open. 

Poor diet and little enrichment

You can't have money, money, money and a poor diet. It's not about having your cake and eating it, which ironically is also a poor diet. IF and only IF, we were all in greyhound racing for money then why on earth would we be feeding the greyhounds a poor diet?

The diet of a racing greyhound is finely tuned for their weight, their current situation (racing, resting, building back up to retrial) and consists of smorgasbord of ingredients from fresh meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, cereals, honey, milk, the list goes on and on. 

As athletes, they can't have a can of Pedigree Chum (other canned dog foods are also available) dumped into a bowl and be expected to perform. That flat out is not how it works. 

When it comes to enrichment, that is something that we as racing enthusiasts need to be doing more on social media about. This whole locked in a kennel for 23 hours a day nonsense comes from a place of ignorance. 

A large portion of our kennel were out at a local dog park during the week. They go to nature reserves, to woodlands, to National Trust properties, to the beach etc. Mental stimulation is just as important as being physically fit and I hardly think that we are the exception when it comes to taking the dogs out to keep their days full. 

Lack of traceability

This might actually be the most idiotic of all the arguments given that greyhounds are the most regulated breed of dog in the country. From ear tattoos and microchips to at least four kennel inspections per year (rescue centres have 0) to ensure that they are in suitable living conditions etc. 

All of this is to maintain a Defra certification that is something regularly overlooked in criticism of the sport. Bonds are paid for each greyhound when they start racing which then go to the homing centre as long as they are GBGB approved. 

This is something that is a bone of contention as there are dogs who end up in centres run by antis and they do not get the bond money for them. Dogs who end up at places like The Blue Cross should be as big of a concern for the sport as they are for the antis but they are all traced to that point having been marked up as pups. 

Owners and trainers providing antis with fodder by sending their retired dogs there are a different subject and one that I don't feel those in the sport do enough to clamp down on 

Like it or not, however, greyhounds are traced from cradle to grave and no amount of whataboutery will ever be able to argue otherwise. 

Being sent to Chinese meat markets

This is fairly similar one to it being all about the money but it has been doing the rounds in the comment section of posts all over social media. When it comes to preposterous, the idea of a greyhound being sold for meat is right up there with the craziest around. 

When I owned shares in dogs in Australia, we looked into bringing a brood bitch to the UK to add some different lines over here. We were quoted £2,500 for the transport alone to get her to the UK, before any other sundry costs. 

A quick look at pet move sites suggest between £1,400 and £6,000 for a dog depending on the size. So £2,500 is probably on the cheap side for a greyhound, so let's call it £3,000. An average bitch is 27-28 and an average dog 31-32 so, let's call it 30kg.

That is £100 per kilo before any profit is made by the seller, before any of the other sundry costs come in. How much of that 30kg is actually meat? Well the skeleton of a 30kg greyhound is roughly 4kg so that now makes 26kg of 'meat' so the price is now £115 per kilo of meat before any profit is made by the seller and any sundry costs are covered. Then of course, how much of that 26kg would be remotely edible?

Given that a kilo of A5 grade, Japanese Wagyu beef fillet can be obtained for £200 give or take on fine foods websites, is there actually anyone out there who honestly, hand on heart think that greyhounds are being sold to meat markets in China for 50-60% the price of Wagyu?

I've got some magic beans to sell you if so. 

The fight for the future

There are no plans for the end of greyhound racing in either England of Ireland for now. Those last two words sadly have to be added as we all know that there will no cessation in the lies until the antis get what they want. Trying to hold back that tide for as long as possible is going to be a difficult task.

Like I said at the start, we have been over all of this before and we will no doubt do so again ad nauseam in the future. We have to for the sake of the sport that we love. 

We must keep banging our heads on the wall of sheer ignorance in the hope that the odd brick will fall out and impart some common sense into them but then common sense is no longer common and in the modern world, feelings weigh heavier than experience.