Racing greyhounds endure lives of terrible confinement

Dogs are confined for 20 to 23 hours each day and barely have enough room to stand up or turn around.

Dogs live in warehouse-style kennels, side by side, and in jurisdictions like the United States, in stacked metal cages. They are confined for long hours each day with bedding that consists of carpet remnants or shredded newspaper.

Caged dogs at Wheeling Island, West Virginia. (Greyhound Relocation & Adoption Canada Forum)

Caged and muzzled greyhounds in the US state of Florida. (Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services)

Greyhounds in the United States are caged for up to 23 hours per day. (Pima County Animal Care Center)

Racing dogs at an English kennel. (Caged NW)

A caged dog in Ireland from the RTÉ exposé Greyhounds Running for Their Lives. (RTÉ News)

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In the United States, dogs are confined for 20 to 23 hours per day with intermittent turn outs and official races about once every four days.

Kennels vary widely across jurisdictions. In the US, there are the two standard cage sizes, 49”-36”-35” and 43”-30”-32”. The latter is barely large enough for some greyhounds to stand up or turn around.

Kennel inspections are also insufficient and infrequent. In the United Kingdom, where racing greyhounds spend 95% of their time confined, kennels are inspected only twice a year, and regulations regarding “adequate” exercise, food, and light are vague and subjective. Furthermore, at independent or “flapper” tracks, kennels aren’t inspected at all. In the United States, a 2010 kennel inspection in Florida turned up dozens of dead greyhounds, all of which had been starved and abused.