Senators in the Philippines are opposing with greyhound dog racing in the country. According to GMA News in the Philippines, Senators have “vowed to block the approval of the bills for the purpose.” The press briefing was filled with animal advocacy groups like Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Animal Kingdom Foundation, Feathered Friends, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA), and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The controversy of greyhound dog racing in the Philippines began at the end of May this year. Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., approved the operations of a greyhound racetrack in Cebu.
PAWS’ spokesperson Ana Cabrera told GMA News,
“Greyhound racing would quadruple the number of homeless dogs in the country- which is currently pegged at 3.2 million. Eight hundred greyhound dogs are needed to operate a race track, and racing aficionados have the tendency to over-breed to ensure they have enough supply of quality and winning racing dogs.”
The only one who seems to not have a problem with greyhound racing is Sen. Revilla, who retorted,
“I don’t see anything wrong since it is only dog racing. It will not kill dogs. But if they think the dogs will be subjected to cruelty then I can bring back the report to the committee for another hearing.”
Once racing greyhound dogs are no longer found fit to race, they are disposed of.
Image courtesy of Flickr: Greyhound Rick
