New Greyhound Track to Open in St. Kitts

The proposed introduction of greyhound racing on St. Kitts is problematic.

When greyhound tracks at other isolated venues have failed ...especially when they fail abruptly, greyhounds are left stranded. Marguerita Island, Venezuela closed in the 90's with no back up plan. Hundreds of greyhounds disappeared.

In the autumn of 2008 the greyhound track on Guam closed and no real provision had been made for the extraneous greyhounds' welfare. Since Guam is under American auspices it was possible to fly the dogs to the west coast of the U.S. and then on to homes.

This was an expensive, labor intensive, but extremely rewarding rescue.

Two tracks in Spain closed quickly.........both had hundreds of Irish racers. International and Spanish rescue groups were able to save some of the dogs but certainly not all.

A major welfare worry is that it is not known what animal welfare standards would apply for the greyhounds at the St. Kitts track. Especially when these dogs are often considered 'commericial' animals.

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Support the Greyhounds

In St. Kitts, which is part of the Caribbean Islands, there are plans to open two greyhound tracks. Dogs will be shipped from the United States to this very small island if the St. Kitts and Nevis Racing Bill of 2009 goes unchallenged.

Please send a letter of support for the greyhounds to:

Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas
Office of the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis
Government Headquarters
Church Street, Basseterre
St. Kitts
erasmus.williams@cuopm.com (Prime Minister's press secretary)

http://www.galgonews.com/2009/06/stop-greyhound-racing-in-the-philippines-south-africa-st-kitts.html