Arizona campaign is launched!

Seventy greyhound advocates and two lawmakers attended meetings in Tucson and Phoenix to help end dog racing in Arizona this weekend.

Channel 4 Tucson covered Friday night's meeting, which was also attended by bill sponsor Senator Paula Aboud. This is a static version of the piece:

http://www.kvoa.com/news/proposed-bill-could-end-dog-racing-in-tucson/

Proposed bill could end dog racing in Tucson
KVOA - Tucson and Southern Arizona News - 2/26/2010

TUCSON - A new Senate bill on the table backed by two local senators could stop all dog races at Tucson Greyhound Park.

"We took one from a laboratory that was going to be euthanized after he raced," said Roberta Wright.

Wright adopted a greyhound who used to race, but she says she had no clue what the sport had done to her dog. Greyhound activist Christine Dorchak says it is brutal.

"Dogs suffered broken legs, broken necks, they were paralyzed, they suffered tail amputations...it goes on and on," Dorchak said.

She said that in 2008, more than 500 greyhounds in Arizona were either too sick or too injured to race.

"Their lives are ones of sheer misery," Dorchak said.

Dorchak works for Grey2K USA, a national organization pushing to bring a stop to dog racing state after state. Right now only 13 states have legal dog races, Arizona included.

State Senators Paula Aboud and Jonathon Paton are now sponsoring a bill that would eliminate the mandate racing parks have to hold dog races, freeing them up to profit solely on simulcasting out-of-state races.

News 4 tried to get reaction from Tucson Greyhound Park about the proposed bills, but they declined our request for an interview. However, Dorchak is confident after speaking with TGP that they will get on-board with the bill.

"TGP benefits, the state benefits, and best of all...the greyhounds benefit," she said Friday.

Senator Aboud said their best chance to get this bill passed is with TGP's support. In addition to the senate bill, there is a separate bill also on the table. House Bill 2637, if passed, would put an immediate end to using anabolic steroids in greyhound racing dogs by raising the penalties for drugging dogs in any form.