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Cover Stories Summer 2001 Caged Activists Protest Against Dog Racing at Massachusetts Racetrack
As part of the demonstration, Bastable and Janet Sawyer, both students at Bridgewater State College, began a 24-hour “cage-in” and hunger strike to call attention to the inhumane treatment of racing greyhounds. The four-foot-by-two-foot wire cages were set up on a tarp on the side of the road directly across from the entrance to the track on Route 138. “This is the way racing greyhounds live 22 hours a day, 365 days a year. They’re big dogs in little cages,” said Bastable. “They’re fed meat that’s unfit for human consumption. They’re frequently ill. We want to raise public support, and we hope this spreads awareness in the community.” Some demonstrators played bongo drums to attract the attention of passing motorists, while others held signs reading, “Dogs Die for This?” and “Dog Racing = Blood Money.” Traffic was heavy on both sides of the road. Some drivers honked their horns in support but others shouted obscenities. When asked by a reporter from The Enterprise if they were afraid of being hit by a passing car, Bastable said, “They swerve to pretend like they’re going to hit us.” A police detail was assigned to protect Bastable and Sawyer overnight. Bastable founded the on-campus protest group WEAP last year after she spent a summer working at the track as an assistant trainer. “The conditions for the animals are awful,” she said. “The trainers would remark that this is a crappy life as they tossed the dogs into their cages. They were not intending to be cruel, but they had become desensitized.” Members of WEAP and NaCOGA protest outside the track every Saturday. Sources: The
Enterprise: Kim Lyons |