Why Greyhound Racing?
I wanted to choose a topic that wasn’t provided. Earlier in the semester we discussed how dogs were considered companions and amongst the most beloved non human animals in the US. We don’t eat them, we treat them like family, and they receive more respect than their pet rival cats; being that cats are used the most in violent metaphors and euphemisms. So how on earth could we be treating Greyhounds so badly? Greyhounds are being used like machines, in many ways and thrown away when they aren’t deemed useful anymore. They have similar paths to cows and chickens, but instead of being eaten they’re forced to work. A person with respect for non animals couldn’t possibly treat one the way Greyhounds are being treated.This treatment aligns with the Cartesian model of animal subjectivity. (Shingne 2019) Rene Descartes the creator of the model established that we don’t have ethical relationships with machines, or animals because they don’t have rationale or immortal souls.(Shingne 2019) You would have to fill this way in order to treat another living thing so poorly. You’d have to believe that these greyhounds lack agency, affectivity, self history, and coherence, those of which are the parts of selfhood identified by Irvine, to explain such behavior and acceptance of such cruelty. (Shingne, 2019) I hope dog races as well as horse races are banned in the near future. No living thing should be forced to do something that will lead to their demise.
