Rescue shelters and organizations in Alachua County are preparing to accommodate about 8,000 displaced greyhounds over the next two years.
Amendment 13, which bans dog racing, passed by slightly more than 69 percent in the November midterm election. Florida is home to 11 dog tracks out of only 17 in the U.S., according to WBUR, a National Public Radio station in Boston.
The Alachua County Humane Society will open its doors for future displaced greyhounds, said Danielle Cummings, the development coordinator at the Alachua County Humane Society.
The humane society has had no immediate impact from the passing of Amendment 13, Cummings said. She is confident that relinquished greyhounds will find support from more than just Florida organizations and shelters.
“I think this is going to be a nationwide effort,” she said. “I think rescues outside of Florida are ready to take in these dogs. It’s not going to come as a surprise.”
Shelters and organizations will have time to prepare because dog tracks will begin closing by the end of 2020, she said.
Rita Phillips, the president of the Gainesville Greyhound Pets of America, said animal rights groups spent a lot of money spreading incorrect information about greyhound racing before the election to get Floridians to ban it.
The media used fabricated stories about the practice, like paw-pad cutting and forcing greyhounds to ingest kerosene to make them run faster, Phillips said.
“The issue was you had a lot of people in Florida and 99 percent of people had no knowledge of greyhounds and racing,” she said. “So they voted on feelings and the message they heard the most, which were the animal rights groups.”
Passing the amendment now forces her organization to be responsible for finding homes for the greyhounds, she said.
Phillips said she is hopeful to receive help from around the country to help the displaced dogs, but if the government doesn’t help, her organization will pay a high cost for transportation, care and food.
The same groups who spent money to get the amendment passed have now left Florida and have offered no money to help with finding new homes for the dogs, she said.
“It is my personal opinion that this was not a good amendment to pass,” she said. “Eight thousand greyhounds will be displaced; 3,000 Floridians will lose their jobs.”
