LONGWOOD, Fla. – A state commission reviewing possible changes to the Florida Constitution will place a proposed amendment on the November ballot that could ban greyhound racing beginning in 2021.
If approved by 60 percent of voters, the amendment would also prohibit wagering on live greyhound races in Florida.
Under the proposal, racetracks, such as the ones in Daytona Beach and Melbourne, would still be allowed to operate their adjoining poker rooms.
The Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club in Longwood is the only one of 12 greyhound tracks in the state without a card room and could be closed if the amendment passes.
According to the text of the proposed revision, "the humane treatment of animals is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida."
"Commercial greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane," said Carey Theil, a co-founder of the anti-racing organization Grey2K USA. "Every three days, a greyhound dies at a Florida dog track. Greyhounds endure lives of confinement, and many suffer serious injuries."
Theil has also raised concerns about the more than 400 racing greyhounds in Florida that have tested positive for drugs, including cocaine and opiates.
The Florida Greyhound Association, which represents greyhound owners and trainers, disputes allegations of abuse and mistreatment. The organization has also expressed concern with the fate of, by its calculations, 3,000 people working in Florida's greyhound industry and more than 8,000 dogs that participate in races.
"This proposal was presented to the (Constitutional Review Commission) with false and misleading information," the group's lobbyist, Jack Cory, wrote in a statement. "This is the reason that you should not put issues like this into the Florida Constitution. A person can make an emotional false presentation to the CRC but they cannot lie to the Florida Supreme Court without serious consequences!"
A.J. Grant, a 30-year industry veteran who owns a kennel that supplies greyhounds to the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, is inviting voters to visit with him at the facility prior to submitting their ballots.
"We will let you in. You can come see for yourself. We've got nothing to hide," Grant said. "Don't accuse me of abusing these dogs and running them to death if you don't have any proof."
Grant believes the proposed greyhound racing ban should not be added to the state's constitution.
"Lawmakers should be handling this," he said. "The reason this was put on the ballot is because they couldn't get this done through the Legislature. The Legislature, in their wisdom, found no evidence of what they were accusing us of."
If the amendment is approved, Grant said about 400 people in Seminole County would lose their jobs.
"I'm sure I'll find something else to do, but my employees, some of them don't even have high school degrees," Grant said. "They've been doing this for 20 years. What are they going to do?"
Grant suggests anti-racing organizations have exaggerated the problems with greyhound racing in order to generate donations, a claim Theil rejects.
"This industry is out of touch with where mainstream values are and is incapable of change," Theil told News 6. "At the end of the day, I think voters will have no choice but to put this industry in the history books, and that will be a good day for the dogs."