This is sad news – Wonderland Greyhound Park, the 75-year-old racetrack in Revere, closed today. The voters of Massachusetts chose to ban greyhound racing in a 2008 ballot initiative, and Governor Deval Patrick and the state legislature recently failed to come to an agreement to allow casinos or slot machines at racetracks, something that Wonderland was hoping for.
In addition to 100 employees losing their jobs, Massachusetts is also deprived of a landmark that, although not the most upscale place to say the least, is a unique part of our state’s culture and character. The voters made the wrong decision to ban greyhound racing, which is not in itself harmful to dogs. The governor and the legislature failed to agree on a bill authorizing casinos or racetrack slots, which is kind of pathetic since they are both in favor of allowing some number of casinos.
The loss of Wonderland leaves Massachusetts a little bit worse off, and it is the decisions of our voters, governor, and legislature that caused this. Massachusetts needs some new leaders (and a change in the anti-liberty attitudes of many voters) who will make the state a better place instead of a worse one.
Photo courtesy of Zchangu @ Wikipedia, CCASA 2.5
Question 3, if approved, would ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts. I’m going to vote no on Question 3, but not for the same reasons as most of its opponents.
Opponents of Question 3 tend to argue that closing down the state’s two dog racing tracks would put people out of work and would decrease the state’s tax revenues, and only mention as a side note that racing really isn’t bad for dogs. I don’t think this is a very good strategy. If greyhound racing actually harmed dogs, then I would want it to be banned regardless of its impact on people’s work and government revenues. It’s wrong to imply that people’s jobs are more important than dogs’ lives.
But I oppose Question 3 because greyhound racing, in itself, doesn’t hurt dogs. Take a look at these statistics if you’re not convinced. Sure, racing can lead to dogs being hurt if individual people decide to mistreat them, but this need not be allowed to happen. Mistreatment of dogs is what should be banned, not racing itself. The law should require trainers and owners to give their greyhounds adequate space, food, and medical care, and not to physically hurt them in any way. That way, dogs can have great lives and enjoy running, and people can enjoy the sport of dog racing.
The government only has the right to ban things that are immoral in themselves or that violate rights. Dog racing falls into neither of these categories, and the government cannot ban things merely because they could have bad consequences.
