ANIMA hosts roundtable condemning greyhound racing

The closure of Macau’s Canidrome and the future of its greyhounds were yesterday the topic of discussion of a roundtable organised by ANIMA, the Society for Animal Protection, at the Grand Coloane Resort. “We discussed what will happen to the animals kept at the Canidrome once it’s closed down”, the President of Anima, Albano Martins (pictured), explained. “We also discussed a worldwide strategy to put an end to the exploitation of greyhounds”, he added. The meeting was attended by 14 different organisations including the largest greyhound protection organisation in the United States GREY2K USA, and the British and Australian arms of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The event was also attended by organisations from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. At the end of the roundtable a joint declaration was signed by all attendees outlining measures to fight the exploitation of greyhounds. In addition to the meeting, ANIMA will deliver a petition bearing around 300,000 signatures to the government today demanding the closure of the Canidrome. This question arises during a time when the concession of the land given by the government where the track is sited is about to expire, namely on October 31. “We will not accept any other solution but the closure of the Canidorme. It does not make any sense to have this kind of cruelty in the most populated area of the world. It is good to remind [ourselves] that an average of 30 racing dogs are slaughtered every month”, Mr. Martins said. “On top of that, the Macau Yat Yuen Canidrome was supposed to invest MOP50 million in the area and that never happened”. The president of ANIMA also said the solution of combining greyhound and horseracing at the Macau Jockey Club in Taipa would not be acceptable to the organisation because the area is not large enough to accommodate dogs and horses.