Greyhound racing in Florida ends next week, but what will happen to the dogs?

The 1,200 racing greyhounds in Florida will either be adopted out or go to race in one of three remaining states with the sport. But exact breakdowns are unknown.

Nearly a century of greyhound racing at St. Petersburg’s Derby Lane ends for good Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. matinee. The final race in the state will take place at Palm Beach Kennel Club on New Year’s Eve at 11:59 p.m., the very last minute allowed by law.

In November 2018, Floridians voted overwhelmingly to pass Amendment 13, which would ban greyhound racing in the state by the end of 2020. Since then, nine Florida tracks have already ended the practice, leaving the final two in the state running about 1,200 dogs down to the wire.

As greyhound racing in Florida phased out over the past two years, most owners have retired and adopted out their dogs, according to animal welfare advocates and industry players. A smaller number sent their animals to the handful of other states that still had the sport. But the exact journey of hundreds of former Florida racing greyhounds is impossible to know. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the industry, does not keep a paper trail on the animals.

What is certain, however, is adoptions of Florida greyhounds have been just as political as the campaign that forced their permanent retirements. Adoption groups that supported the passage of Amendment 13 have been blacklisted from receiving dogs retiring from tracks, with the National Greyhound Association only endorsing groups that are pro-racing or neutral on the matter, executive director Jim Gartland confirmed.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2020/12/23/greyhound-racing-in-florida-ends-next-week-but-what-will-happen-to-the-dogs/