Greyhound Chronicles - The Truth About Grey2K

17/11/2024

The state legislative sessions are still months away, but plan to keep up with what is being introduced in your states. Many are not,in fact, pro animal as they like to sound. Investigate these bills, talk to people affected by them, and make your voices heard.

Are you able to recognize the facade of animal rights-driven legislation which masquerades as "increased welfare" for animals while inserting language to eliminate your rights to own, breed, and work with animals?

Get on the ball! Join our team and help us fight back against the animal rights LIES and DECEPTION at the local, state, and federal levels.

13/12/2023

Lets continue to. be heard for our friends in Wales. Please complete the form to make our opinions known. Say YES to licensing, and NO to a phased closing of racing.

We want your views on proposals to license animal welfare establishments, activities and exhibits.

15/09/2021

We continue our look at Leslie Wootten’s report in response to Grey2K’s 2015 report titled “High Stakes: Greyhound Racing in the United States.” The following is copied directly from Leslie’s report, starting on page 27, and is in response to Grey2K’s claim that greyhounds “endure lives of confinement.”

A Closer Look at “High Stakes” by Leslie Wootten

Greyhound Confinement

In Section 2A, G2K continues on the slippery slope of misrepresentation. The problem begins early in the “Confinement” section, as G2K cites a former trainer’s essay titled, “A Day in the Life of a Racing Greyhound” (12). G2K holds the essay up as proof that brief exercise periods, or "turn-outs," are the mainstay of a racing greyhound’s existence. This is simply not an accurate reflection of the essay's content.

In fact, the essay, written by Clifton Gray, describes the diversity of activity a greyhound experiences in a racing kennel. For example, Gray writes that in addition to regular turn-outs, a day often includes conditioning exercises such as truck-walking, sprinting, or short races at morning schooling, interspersed with official racing that occurs every 5-6 days….It is clear from Gray’s essay that greyhounds do not “endure lives of confinement” as G2K claims…

…G2K adds insult to injury with more inaccurate information. Pointing to data provided by the American Greyhound Council that greyhound shoulder height ranges from 23 to 30 inches, G2K proclaims boldly but wrongly that “large greyhounds cannot stand fully erect in racetrack cages.” (12)

This statement is easily disproved by a recent photograph to the contrary. For example, AK’s Dolan, a brindle male with a shoulder height of 30.5” stands easily in his 32” high crate at Tucson Greyhound Park (Fig 1). Since kennel crates typically range in height from 32 to 36 inches, even big males manage just fine….

…G2K wades deeper into deception with regard to a South Tucson ordinance passed in 2008. Here, G2K employs one of its favorite devices, "circular attribution," which is to quote from an article that features G2K as the go-to expert (12)….

…G2K then cites its own "undercover" video as further “clear evidence” the Tucson ordinance has been ignored. An unnamed trainer is quoted as telling an investigator hired by G2K that his dogs “usually go back out about two o’clock and be done for the day.” The trainer is also quoted as confirming that the dogs are not left out for a couple of hours.

The main problem here is that the video, which is viewable on Youtube, includes no such statements…

(A link to Leslie’s full report is in the first comment.)

08/09/2021

In 2015, Grey2K USA Worldwide (G2K), funded by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), wrote a 51-page report titled “High Stakes: Greyhound Racing in the United States.” Leslie Wootten, a Racing Greyhound Advocate & Historian, performed a detailed review of G2K’s report and published her findings. Our next series of posts will highlight Leslie’s findings. The following is copied directly from Leslie’s report.

A Closer Look at “High Stakes” by Leslie Wootten

Introduction

Christine Dorchak, President of G2K, writes in the introduction, “What follows is the first comprehensive report on the commercial greyhound racing industry in the United States.” She notes that research for the project spanned thirteen years, and she promises that “in compiling this report we have followed strict guidelines.” She obviously wanted to convince her readers that they should take the report's contents at face value.

Given Grey2K's long-standing record of deception and misrepresentation, I was not prepared to do that. During the painstaking process of my review, I began to wonder what happened to the strict guidelines promised by President Dorchak. I discovered many errors, omissions and selective edits. A vast majority of the cited sources are misquoted or misrepresented, with significant omissions that alter and, in some cases, actually contradict the sense of the actual quotes. The text contains numerous rhetorical gimmicks such as ad hominem attacks, manufactured evidence, and manipulation of source material.

Perhaps President Dorchak believed that heft alone would be enough to give the report credibility. She almost certainly hoped that no one would actually read the document and verify the numerous source citations. She was wrong. I have done it, and I encourage others to do so as well. My review includes details and examples that highlight the most egregious abuses. The numbered citations in the text refer to the numbered entries in the bibliography at the end of the document. For example, the number (36) after a citation refers to entry number 36 in the bibliography.

If this were a high school or college report, the only consequence would be a failing grade. The stakes are much higher here because lives and livelihoods are involved. Racing greyhounds and the people who honor, love, and respect them deserve more than this shoddy treatment by G2K and ASPCA. And the policy makers who have been served up G2K’s deceptive dish deserve to know the whole truth.

(A link to Leslie’s full report is in the first comment.)

01/09/2021

Can Photographs Lie?
By Wendi Tremblay

As a child, my mother always told me “photographs don’t lie.” Considering that was back in the 1960’s and 70’s, she was probably right. Enter the age of electronics, with the ability to alter and put messages with photos, and suddenly, my mother’s words are not so true any more.

Yet, throughout the last 3 decades, I still didn’t realize the extent that photos are misused and mislabeled, until it involved one of my own.

In early 2018, my son and I became stuck in Tampa, FL, when a March snowstorm forced our flight home to cancel. We decided to go to Derby Lane in nearby St. Petersburg and watch some greyhound racing. I put a quick post on a Facebook group I knew had trainers on it, asking if anyone had time to give us a kennel tour. I got an answer, and our kennel visit was set up.

As the dogs were released for “evening turnout,” Charlie, (racing name Charlie Hines), came over, looking for a cookie we had when he met us on his way out. Whose dog has not perfected that forlorn look when they beg for our food? I took a quick photo of Charlie through the fence as he stared us down, wearing his red muzzle. Upon arrival home, I went through my photos and put some in the Facebook group where I had posted, looking for a kennel visit. One photo was that of Charlie.

My post with photos of our visit got a lot of comments and Charlie’s photo of his “acting ability” was no exception. Four months later, I saw an article in an animal rights group’s publication on some of the people pushing an amendment to end wagering on greyhound racing in Florida. One of the photos with that article looked familiar. You see, Charlie had a distinct marking on his head like a 3 leafed clover. This dog did too. I scrolled through my phone, and sure enough, it was MY photo! It had been darkened around the edges making the well-lit area look gloomy, and they had cropped it so the other dogs running around the pen were not visible. With it was a message to end greyhound racing and rescue him! The picture resurfaced again on Grey2k’s page and several other sites where they were pushing to end Florida greyhound racing. Again, my photo was darkened with sad messages that did not apply to this dog at all! Unfortunately, Charlie had become the poster-dog for that campaign to end wagering on greyhounds.

Furious, I asked that they remove it, but I heard nothing. I was blocked from “Grey2k’s” page, so I couldn’t comment there, (which I feel is a freedom of speech issue). I attained a lawyer to write a cease and desist letter, which he did, also asking them to remove the photo from all their material put out to the public. This was in September before the election. Had they been ethical, I feel this would have been done! But by Election Day November 6th, my photo was still in wide circulation, and we had heard nothing.

Finally in December, long after the election, a letter came from a lawyer in Florida. Imagine, a Massachusetts lobby group hiring a Florida Attorney! The attorney’s letter stated that since the photo was posted in a public group, Grey2k was “entitled to it” because they “thought” it represented “cruelty” that needed to be told. No statement to the fact that (as I explained above), this dog was begging for a cookie, and was a happy greyhound. I never mind if my photos are shared, as long as they remain in the context they are taken. This was not. In fact, Charlie had not raced well, and long before they used this photo as misinformation in their campaign, he had been taken to the adoption center at the track and had found his forever retirement home. After all, retired US greyhounds now have 100% adoption if they do not stay at home with their racing owner.

The Florida lawyer ended his letter by stating that I would not become a problem, or I would have to pay Grey2k’s legal costs. Pay THEIR costs? It was MY PHOTO they altered! The average race enthusiast does not have the huge coffers to afford court costs, defending against these wealthy activist groups. I feel groups like this use photos that greyhound owners take at kennels, tracks, or farms, and re-portray them in a sad tone, seeking votes and more donations to their already wealthy bank accounts. And where does their money come from? Donors who think they are actually helping animals! My adoption group never saw a penny from them after they shut down greyhound racing in Massachusetts the end of 2009.

So sadly, my mother’s advice no longer holds true. When you see photos put out by these groups ask yourself (1) Was the photo taken where they say it was? And in what time period? (2) Does this photo portray what the initial photographer intended? And finally (3) Does the caption really state what the dog was actually doing? After my experience, my guess is “none of the above.”

25/08/2021

Wouldn’t the best way to learn about something be to go to see it and experience it for yourself? If you believe anti-racing organizations like Grey2K and HSUS, you are only hearing their OPINIONS about greyhound racing. Have you ever heard them suggest that you go to find out about greyhound racing for yourself? In Florida in 2018, Jeff Sonksen from Paint the Trail did just that. He was invited to go to any Florida greyhound racing track and kennel and video whatever he wanted. Jeff was anti-racing until he saw with his own eyes. He visited many track kennels and came to one conclusion -- you are being deceived by these anti-racing groups. His videos and more can be seen on our sister page, https://www.facebook.com/GreyhoundChronicles.GreyhoundRacingTruths.

You probably also aren’t aware that on June 23, 2018, 50 people went into the kennels at the Sanford Orlando track for a tour. You aren't aware of it because it is likely that Grey2K and the HSUS never posted it on their Facebook or Twitter pages. But, why? You could have infiltrated and taken pictures, your own pictures, of the inside of a greyhound racing kennel. You could have shown the world how well the dogs are cared for and how happy they are. But these anti-racing organizations can't let you be part of a group going into a kennel to see for yourself -- their brainwashing would be over and the scam uncovered. These kennel tours were such a threat to Grey2K and the HSUS that they uncovered a loophole which prevented people from going into the kennels for the tours. That speaks volumes, that they had to stop the tours so no one would SEE the truth!! That is just despicable because thousands of people’s lives were ruined by their deception. These anti-racing people will tell you anything. Do your own research. Go see for yourself.

18/08/2021

Christine Dorchak and Carey Theil, co-founders of the anti-racing group trying to ban greyhound racing, told their followers this:

"Our goal is to know the dog racing industry better than it knows itself". Think about that for a minute -- Our goal is to know the dog racing industry better than it knows itself.

That is a very nice saying, but talk is cheap, and that talk is nothing more than two people trying to con you. They can read all the books they want, and they can scour the internet to learn about the racing greyhound, but they won't know anything about the racing greyhound like a greyhound farmer, trainer, or kennel owner does. Greyhound racing is not a profession you can learn in a book. It is not a profession you can learn on the internet. In fact, it is not a profession you can learn at Harvard or Yale. It is a profession where you have to get your hands dirty, scoop p**p, be up at the crack of dawn, and care for the greyhounds until last turnout 24/7/365. And it’s a profession where you truly love the dogs you work with. You don't get to sit in your plush office in the upscale town of Arlington, Massachusetts and learn more about greyhound racing than the hands-on greyhound farmers, kennel owners and trainers.

These anti-racing people will tell you anything. Do your own research. Go see for yourself.

11/08/2021

Did you ever give a second thought to stacking things? Children sleep in bunkbeds -- one child stacked on top of the other. Some single-family houses are multi-stories -- family members stacked one on top of the other. Some families live in high-rise apartment buildings and condos -- families stacked one on top of the other.

Grey2K constantly repeats that racing greyhounds are kept in “warehouse-style stacked cages.” You probably never thought twice about that being “horrible”, but after hearing Grey2K repeat it over and over, maybe now you do. If so, you have been brainwashed into thinking this. Using Grey2K’s logic, someone should be protesting that those poor children sleep stacked on top of each other in bunkbeds. How can you possibly be ok with stacking sleeping children one on top of the other?

The truth is that stacking anything is being efficient. If the kennel buildings were made bigger to accommodate each crate on the floor would everything be better in your mind? Imagine a world with no stacking of anything. Would there even be enough space to flatten all of those multi-stories houses and high-rise apartment buildings and condos? And from the picture, you can see that the dogs are quite content -- neither trainer nor dog seems to mind being stacked, relaxing quite nicely.

Grey2K is a master manipulator and can get you to believe anything. They write in a way that leads you to conclusions that are false. They make videos and use music that sounds sad, dark, and dreary. They steal pictures off the internet, darken them, and add captions that represent their opinion, totally taking the picture out of context. That is all done for effect to brainwash you. Go to a kennel, go to a greyhound farm, go see for yourself. Grey2K will tell you to get the facts from them. Their opinions are not facts!! Get the facts yourself!!