International: South African Kennel Union enters dog racing debate

Last week, the Kennel Union of South Africa released a statement denouncing a Bloemfontein-based company’s attempts to revive the country’s dog-racing industry. The company, Amatwina Sport, is spearheading an effort to legalize greyhound racing in South Africa, which banned the activity in 1949.

The South African Kennel Club comes out against dog racing.

“(Dog racing) will involve cruelty to the dogs concerned, which is difficult to police,” the Kennel Union said. “Further problems concern the use of drugs and live lures for training, and an important objection pertains to puppies who do not make the grade and top-rate dogs at the end of their careers.

“We query (Amatwina’s) statement that it will create 30,000 jobs countrywide, which does not seem to add up to the overseas situation where the industry seems to be struggling to survive.”

The statement comes after weeks of scathing rhetoric from both pro- and anti-racing groups. Both sides have attended a series of debates held by South Africa’s Trade and Industry Department, hoping to garner public support for their positions.

For its part, the NSPCA has repeatedly painted a dire picture of greyhound racing, saying that it has resulted, internationally, in the suffering of thousands of animals.

“A greyhound bitch can have up to two litters per year and as many as 14 pups in a litter. Out of all those, maybe two or three (animals) will make it onto the race track,” King William’s Town NSPCA Chairwoman Annette Rademeyer told KwaZulu-Natal newspaper The Witness. “What happens to the other pups as they need to be fed and looked after at great cost?”

Rademeyer went on to point out that unwanted animals in other countries are often destroyed, used for pit fighting or sold to poachers, who use them for illegal hunting.

“There are already too many unwanted animals,” she said. “We really don’t need more.”

Amatwina has responded by charging that racing opponents are misleading the public. Company representative Shane Brody compared dog racing to the Kennel Union's dog-show circuit.

”Don’t be selective,” Brody said. “If you are against racing, why not be against all forms of dog exploitation?”

Furthermore, Amatwina Director Andrew Callis said, “The (1949) banning was on the grounds that (gambling on greyhound races) was a social evil – not because of cruelty to animals. The NSPCA is making a big issue out of this unnecessarily. There are no reported cases of dog abuse or any conviction because of animal cruelty.”

In addition to the thousands of new jobs Amatwina says dog racing would create, it projects that the industry could generate as much as $147 million in tax revenue annually. Supporters also maintain that coupled with strict government regulation a legal industry could avert many abuses animals suffer because of illegal racing.

The next public hearing is scheduled for March 6 at the East London Holiday Inn. Advocates for both sides are expected to attend.

- Phill Provance
phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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22-Feb-2009, 05:22

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