The president of West Virginia's Federation of Humane Organizations is urging Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) to support the Greyhound Protection Act when it comes before the Senate Agriculture Committee, a measure that would end state-subsidized greyhound racing.
Theresa Bruner, who has led the federation since its founding in 1994, said she was devastated when Justice vetoed a similar bill in 2017 during his tenure as governor. That legislation would have repealed a state mandate requiring greyhound racing and eliminated the $19 million in annual subsidies that keep the industry afloat.
“I hoped the suffering and deaths were finally going to end, but it wasn't to be,” Bruner wrote in an op-ed. “The tracks stayed open. The subsidies kept flowing. The dogs kept running and dying.”
According to Bruner, roughly 4,000 greyhound injuries have occurred in West Virginia since the veto, including 1,367 broken bones and 84 deaths on the track. She cited the case of GF St Barts, a two-year-old who died in 2022 after a fall during a race at Mardi Gras.
Now, with the Greyhound Protection Act advancing in Congress, Bruner is asking Justice to side with the dogs this time—and to think of his own beloved pet, Babydog. The English bulldog has become a political icon, serving as the face of West Virginia's COVID vaccine lottery and appearing at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“Politics performed through a pooch and politics demonstrated through policy are two very different things,” Bruner wrote. She noted that Justice's 2021 appeal to West Virginians to get vaccinated “for Babydog” succeeded because people believed him. Now, she says, it's his turn to show that same commitment to protecting greyhounds.
Bruner pointed to recent polling showing 65% of West Virginia voters support the Greyhound Protection Act, with only 25% opposed. She also cited a new Ball State University study that found greyhound racing produces no lasting employment gains and has no effect on GDP, concluding there is “simply no net fiscal benefit of greyhound racing on West Virginia.”
“After nearly three decades of advocating for animals in this state, I can think of a lot of better ways to spend $19 million a year than propping up an industry West Virginians no longer want,” Bruner wrote.
The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to debate the measure soon. Justice's vote could prove pivotal. Bruner framed the decision as a redemption opportunity, urging him to support the bill for the greyhounds, for West Virginia, and for Babydog.
