An End To Exploitation

By |2016-07-08T13:41:39+10:00July 8th, 2016|Animals|

end greyhound racing

I was happy to hear of the announcement by the New South Wales government that it intends to ban greyhound racing as of July next year, and the Australian Capital Territory’s decision to follow suit.

I wasn’t quite ecstatic for a number of reasons.

One reason is that there is still another year of racing, during which time an estimated 180 dogs will “suffer catastrophic injuries such as skull fractures or broken backs”.

Also, the fate of the thousands of dogs currently in the industry in NSW and ACT has yet to be determined, and while dog racing continues in other Australian states and overseas, animals are still at risk.

I understand that there are over 1,000 people who will lose their jobs and many more who will be upset by this decision, and I have empathy for these people.  However, even those people, whose dogs were well cared for and who did not practise live-baiting, were part of an industry which exploited animals.  This is an industry which has been killing thousands of dogs every year, just because they weren’t fast enough.

We are moving towards a new world where exploitation is a thing of the past.

In years gone by, enslavement of inferior races and child labour was considered reasonable.  In modern society, we realise that there is no such thing as an inferior race of humans, and children, no matter what their background, should be given the right to an education and to enjoy their childhood.  The United Nations has agreed to this in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see below).

Exploitation of other races and children is now illegal.

We find ourselves now in a movement towards the establishment of similar rights for non-human species.

This is where it gets a bit scary for a lot of people, because there are still a lot of people who are working in industries which continue to, not only exploit animals, but to cause them suffering.  It gets even scarier when we realise that most of us are contributing in some way to this exploitation and suffering, not least by voting for a federal government which supports this exploitation.

So, whilst I am happy to see a ban on greyhound racing in NSW and ACT, I will be really ecstatic when the following cruel industries come to an end, and this will only happen when we all start to realise the consequences of our own actions:

Live Animal Exports
http://www.banliveexport.com/ ; https://www.rspca.org.au/live-export

Factory Farming
http://www.makeitpossible.com/

Horse Racing
http://animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php

Rodeos
http://animalsaustralia.org/issues/rodeos.php

Animal Circuses
http://animalsaustralia.org/issues/circuses.php

Until these industries come to an end, you can do your part by not supporting them and by considering the consequences to animals of your actions in all that you do.  Here are a few tips which can help you make a real difference:
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/compassionate_living.php

Thank you for helping to make animal exploitation a thing of the past.

 

http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/07/07/gone-dogs-nsw-end-greyhound-racing/

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf

http://www.humanium.org/en/convention/text/

One Comment

  1. Rosie July 8, 2016 at 7:05 pm - Reply

    Hi Lorelle,
    I thought of you when that announcement was made and agree wholeheartedly with the clear evidence of cruelty to greyhounds and that measures must be taken to protect them. In noting the hard heartedness of those who put their dogs down if they aren’t winners rather than give them to a good home or treat them with cruelty or use real (lifeless) rabbits to train them with, which has do doubt been happening for years, it is of concern that there’s talk of putting greyhounds down “Humanely” by the authorities in the event they can’t be given homes. It seems like a lose-lose situation for the unfortunate animals.
    Obviously greyhounds and whippets were bred for their racing ability and the main reason people won’t take them isn’t their competitive (hunting) nature but the fact that this breed of dog requires an enormous amount of daily walking in relation to their energy levels. Let us hope that there’s a way that good loving homes can be found for greyhounds once they can no longer race. I’m sure many owners love their dogs but gambling and greed breed the attitude that prevails at their animals’ expense.

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