The Buzz | Anima co-leads petition for Portuguese gov’t to ban greyhound racing

Animal rights groups – including Anima Macau – are calling on the Portuguese government to ban greyhound racing in Portugal.
In an online petition with Italy’s Pet Levrieri Onlus and GREY2K USA, the groups remarked that there has been an increase in the problems commonly associated with dog racing in jurisdictions where the practice is tolerated.
They noted that there was a greater number of abandoned dogs, an increase in the use of coercive and cruel training methods, and the spread of drugs.
According to the groups, greyhounds are now being treated as ‘objects’ for betting – used and abused, and then discarded. The groups say racing is a activity with purely economic interests at its core.
Albano Martins, president and CEO of Anima Macau, told the Times, “we are trying to have four organizations as leaders of the project. [These organizations] were involved in saving the greyhounds after the Macau Canidrome closed.”
“There is only one formal track in Portugal. The others are informal races and greyhounds are being used for illegal gambling. They are then just dumped when these [people] are not interested in them anymore,” he added.
There are twenty Portuguese racing kennels currently in existence.
Macau’s only greyhound racing track was closed in July 2018 following pressure from a sustained international campaign led by Anima Macau. LV