Rome, Italy Track
Closing
updated 9 September
2002
BOSTON- The fate of 370 Greyhound dogs trapped
inside of the Cinodromo in Rome, Italy since the racetrack’s closure on
24 May 2002 has finally been decided. Roman officials have announced
that the dogs will be released to international and national Greyhound
adoption agencies on October 1st, 2002.
While news of the release date comes as a relief to
the people who have been working to save these animals, many feel that
the city of Rome is shirking its fiscal responsibility. It has been
decided that the 370 Greyhound dogs will be distributed among
international adoption agencies in France, Germany, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands as well as
locating homes for the dogs in Italy.
The international agencies that come to rescue the
dogs will be faced with a rather large bill. Each of these organizations
will have to raise the money for transportation, boarding, and dental
bills for every dog that they take. In addition Rome is charging a fee
of 25 Euros per dog to pay for a necessary vaccination before the dogs
can be removed from the track. Many such as Marion Fitzgibbon of the
Irish SPCA worry about how the dogs will be released. “There needs to be
an orderly exodus for these dogs. For example, if possible each dog’s
health status, age, and temperament should be taken into account in
order to decide where they should be sent,” says Fitzgibbon. “It is also
important that we ensure that all of the groups are able to transport
the dogs safely.”
For the past four months the dogs have been the
unwilling victims of political indecision. A law put into place by the
Italian Green Party in May 2002 declared dog racing illegal; but when
the track was shut down 40 workers employed by the Commonwealth of Rome
were left without jobs and an estimated 370 dogs with an uncertain
future. The workers wanting to prove their loyalty to the Commonwealth
stayed at their jobs as volunteers and continued to clean and feed the
dogs in hopes of being rehired quickly. But as the months wore on and
the ruling political party, Forza Italia, argued over what would become
of the Cinodromo site, the volunteers began to get restless.
On Wednesday 4 September 2002 at a meeting
comprised of Animal Rights officials, Forza Italia, and volunteers from
the Cinodromo held at the Palazzo Del Campidoglio in Rome the volunteers
stated that they would no longer take responsibility for feeding the
dogs claiming that they did not want to be held liable in the event that
a dog should die. In turn responsibility for feeding the dogs was handed
over to Animal Rights workers and the volunteers moved one step closer
to evoking a decision from the Commonwealth of Rome.
Conditions inside the track are still uncertain. At
this point nobody who goes to the track (animal rights worker or
volunteer) has the right to exercise the dogs without being held liable.
In addition to not receiving exercise, the chores of feeding the dogs
and cleaning the cages in which they are kept are only done once a day.
Journalists who have been inside the Cinodromo in the past month have
only been allowed to see one kennel located behind the actual track
where the majority of dogs are being kept. One source close to the
volunteers who wishes to remain anonymous claims that 15 dogs have died
of neglect over the past week, but there is no way of confirming that
information. No officials could be reached for comment and phone calls
made to the veterinarian of the Cinodromo were not answered or returned.
One thing is known for sure, the responsibility of
taking the dogs now rests in the hands of international agencies, but
even for all of their good intentions there is no way to ensure that all
of the dogs will be taken to adequate new homes.
