“Politics and business should be separate!” - A common argument we hear when it comes to businesses taking a stance on issues in the world. For some reason a lot of folks still believe that endorsing a cause is bad for business. Much better to be neutral, you don’t want to be seen ‘alienating’ potential customers or *gasp* offending anybody.
Well, dear friends, things have changed. Corporate responsibility is here to stay.
A brief history
Before Rainy Day Pets was even thought of, we were always anti-greyhound racing. If you’ve been following for a while, you’d know that we’re biiiig on foster caring for rescued greyhounds (yes, that’s rescued, not retired). We have seen first-hand the awful injuries (both physical and psychological) greyhounds have sustained from racing or the sheer neglect and poor treatment from their owners who claim to love them so much.
We’ve had greyhounds in our care who have come to us terrified and anxious, covered in cigarette burns, thick kennel coats, seriously underweight and sometimes just utterly broken. It is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and downright upsetting. We know this was no accident, we know it is a direct result of the sub-par ‘care’ these greyhounds have received while literally running for their lives in the racing industry. So, naturally, as people, we are anti-greyhound racing and we talk about it a lot with just about anyone who asks us about Archie, our beautiful rescued greyhound.
Is greyhound racing really that bad? Sounds like just a few bad apples…
Oh boy, the amount of times we’ve heard pro-racers say “it’s just a few bad apples!”. Honestly… abuse is rampant in the industry. There are thousands upon thousands of unnecessary deaths, overbreeding, corruption and lies being told to the community about how wonderful this ‘sport’ is. This paragraph is going to be really hard to write, I’m holding back tears already and I haven’t even gotten into the nitty gritty of it all. We know this blog won’t even scratch the surface, but hopefully it provides enough information to spur your own search into this dastardly industry.
Some key facts from The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds & RSPCA websites:
- Around 25% of the 11,000 greyhounds bred in Australia each year are surplus to requirements.
- An estimated 750 greyhounds are injured on Australian greyhound racing tracks each month.
- State governments invest millions of dollars to prop up the greyhound racing industry due to the revenue generated by gambling.
- Greyhounds are drugged with a range of banned substances including EPO, amphetamines, methamphetamines, caffeine, anabolic steroids, Viagra and cocaine. These can have serious psychological and physical effects.
- Greyhounds are exported to countries that have poor or no animal welfare protections and are also vulnerable to entering the dog meat trade.
So, not only are greyhounds abused, but people are taken advantage of too. Gambling is a serious problem and while at least humans can consent to it, it does lure vulnerable people in and can wreak havoc on people’s lives and their innocent families. But, y’know, the government makes a boatload of money out of it so why would they care? And FYI, we have the same feelings about horse racing. Did you know, according to Centacare, there is a significant rise in domestic violence on the first Tuesday in November (Melbourne Cup Day), with alcohol and gambling creating a perfect storm for abuse.
So it seems all these ‘sports’ contribute to society is lining the pockets of the government and racing greyhound owners and trainers. Cool cool cool.
Okay, yeah that does sound pretty bad. But still… Should brands take a political stance?
For me, as a consumer, I would prefer to support a brand that stands up for a cause I believe in. Buying a shirt from a particular company means that a percentage of proceeds get donated to LGBTQI+ organisations? Heck yes, count me in. My purchase of a bracelet means I’m planting a tree somewhere and helping climate change? Okay, take my money! The way I see it, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thinks this way.
As someone who’s been embedded in the greyhound rescue community for a few years now and the broader dog rescue community for even longer, it’s pretty clear that our people are already pretty darn vocal about the cause. And we love it! So, yes, as a brand, we most certainly do think it’s important to take a political stance and stick to it. We won’t advertise in pro-racing circles or try to hide our stance when someone obviously pro-racer is speaking to us. We’re loud and proud about it, always.
You can probably tell that we are super passionate about this. We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk too. That’s why we donate a portion of our proceeds to greyhound rescues that are strictly anti-racing. We have our anti-racing stance plastered across our Instagram bio, social media content and right here on our website. And there’s no changing our mind about it either!
What can we do to support the end of greyhound racing?
We’re glad you asked, because there are loads of things you can do to support the cause!
First of all, let’s arm ourselves with information. Here’s some essential reading:
Donate to a rescue organisation:
Find a local rescue to you via Blue The Grey and consider gifting to them directly.
Many rescue organisations rely solely on the help of generous folk like you and wouldn’t be able to operate without continued support.
Volunteer:
Suss out volunteer roles going at your local rescue, or have a look at opportunities with CPG. Some jobs you can even do from home.
Foster:
We don’t want to sound biased, but this one is our favourite! Read more about our own foster journey and consider if it’s right for you too. If you have any questions you can reach out to us or to your local rescue directly to find out more about their program.
Adopt:
We love seeing hounds find their happily ever after with some seriously sweet humans. Many adopters of rescued greyhounds often say their hounds were the ones who rescued them, and we couldn’t agree more! Our lives have become infinitely better with Archie in it.
Swipe these hashtags and use them in your social media posts:
#freethehounds #endgreyhoundracing #rescuednotretired #winningheartsnotraces #petsnotbets #adoptdontshop #couchesnotcages #greyhoundracingkills #greyhoundsmakegreatpets #bangreyhoundracing #rescuegreyhound #greyhoundrescue #youbettheydie #winningheartsnotraces #endgreyhoundsuffering
Bonus tip: add “anti-racing” in your bio too, so folks can recognise you’re ‘one of us’!
And hey, maybe taking a political stance is ‘bad for business’. Maybe we will lose customers and sales. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to us. We never got into this business solely for money. More than anything, we are so beyond grateful for the amazing community we have built and the wonderful people and hounds we’ve met along the way. We won’t be silenced and we certainly won’t ever stop fighting for the freedom of this beautiful breed 💕
5 comments
I wholly support , everything you are doing . Thanks for the info on how to help the rescue organisations. I adopted a 6 year old grey from Lost Dogs Home and it has been a learning curve for both of us . She certainly is quirky but I adore her.
It makes me so angry when I see so many gambling ads on TV promoting grey n horse racing industries . I made the mistake of joining this greyhound group on FB and posted a Tshirt my daughter was printing with Rescued not Retired on it. The abusive comments I n my daughter received from so called loving grey racing trainers or owners was unreal.
my daughter urged me to quickly remove the post . Luckily also the admin leader of the group stepped in and said this is not appropriate
It makes me very sad that such lovely dogs are treated so badly. Well done to the rescuers
HEAR, HEAR! 😊
Absolutely love what you have written. I agree that there is no sitting on the fence with Greyhound racing – those who participate in racing and treat their greyhounds well are still enabling those who are cruel to race their greyhound. They are providing the competition!! Thank you for taking a stand. You said you would lose followers and business – well you have gained a new follower and my business!
THANK YOU Cecelia and Rainy Day Pets for all your incredible fostering and advocacy for these precious dogs. When one person/business stands up against racing it paves the way for others to stand up too…and goodness knows that’s what greyhounds need…a strong, compassionate, courageous army of hound warriors who are fearless in speaking the desperate and heartbreaking plight of the greyhound born into the unscrupulous racing industry – and horses too. Thank you for being their voice and shining light. You inspire me to do better!