Cover Stories Fall 2002

Arizona Breeder Suspended for Using Live Rabbits to Train Greyhounds

Phoenix, Arizona: State regulators Oct. 11 summarily suspended multiple licenses held by greyhound breeder and trainer Gregory Wood for using live lures to train racing greyhounds. The license suspensions came within days of the completion of a four-month criminal investigation by the Arizona Department of Racing. Wood's contract to race greyhounds at Phoenix Greyhound Park also was cancelled.

The racing department began its investigation June 6 after receiving information from a "concerned individual" who alleged that Wood was using live rabbits to train greyhounds on his 15-acre breeding and training farm in Maricopa, a desert town 50 miles southwest of Phoenix in Pinal County. Department investigators conducted 37 separate surveillance operations of Wood's property between June 6 and Oct. 7. According to the investigation report, investigator John Parkey, using a spotting scope, observed Wood attaching a live rabbit to the lure end of a whirly-gig Monday morning, Oct. 7.

Parkey and fellow investigator Rick Williams then left their hilltop observation post, drove to Wood's property, and executed a search warrant that had been issued Oct. 4 by Pinal County Superior Court. Parkey found a nearly dead rabbit close to the whirly-gig while Williams photographed and videotaped the scene. The rabbit later died.

The story broke on the front page of the Arizona Republic on Wednesday, Oct. 16, just weeks before voters will decide on three complex gaming issues on the Nov. 5 ballot that will determine the future of Indian gaming in Arizona, and the possible expansion of casino-style gambling to the state's dog and horse tracks. If Proposition 201, a measure sponsored by the tracks, is approved, at least two long-closed dog tracks in Black Canyon City and Yuma will reopen for live racing. The Arizona Republic's article was also published in Tucson in the Arizona Daily Star and the Tucson Citizen.

Media exposure of the illegal use of live animals to train greyhounds at Wood's kennel came after the filing of criminal charges against a Prescott-area man for dumping dead racehorses in the Prescott National Forest, 90 miles north of Phoenix. The Daily Courier reported Sept. 6 that a hiker climbing Mingus Mountain discovered the bodies of five racehorses, still wearing their aluminum racing shoes and leg wraps. The horses reportedly had been shot to death and left on the side of a dirt road on national forest land.

Richard Silva, an animal control officer with the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, who later admitted to dumping the horses, has been charged with two counts of criminal littering on public land. A preliminary hearing for Silva was set for Oct. 29 in Mayer Justice Court.

Press Conference
The Arizona Greyhound Protection Alliance, a political committee formed in June to oppose Prop 201, held a press conference the same day the Wood's story broke. "We formed our committee because we felt a cruel industry shouldn't be rewarded with slot machines," said Stephanie Nichols-Young, a Phoenix attorney and chair of the Alliance. Sponsoring organizations of the Alliance are the Animal Defense League of Arizona, Greyhound Network News, and GREY2K USA.

Local CBS affiliate KPHO-TV Channel 5, independent KTVK-TV Channel 3, and KTAR 620-AM Radio covered the press conference, which concluded with a Humane Society of the U.S. videotape of an undercover investigation of live-lure training at a greyhound farm in Florida. The stations aired coverage of the press conference, including the live-lure training video, on their 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. newscasts; KTAR broadcast coverage of the press conference numerous times over two days.

180 Rabbits Found on Farm The racing department contacted Pinal County Animal Control (PCAC) to help remove approximately 180 live rabbits from Wood's farm.

Twenty of the rabbits were placed with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona (HSSA) in Tucson. Jewel Waldrip of HSSA is caring for "Dobby," one of the eight remaining rabbits, and reports he "is coming along," but still frightens easily. Dobby was named for a character freed from an evil master in the Harry Potter book series.

All of the remaining rabbits were euthanized at PCAC. Jane Decker, director of PCAC, could not find any shelter to take them. "We don't have facilities for rabbits or livestock. We tried to do what we could."

Hearing Postponed
Wood is licensed as an owner/trainer, and his farm is licensed as a racing and breeding kennel. His license suspensions are temporary, pending a hearing before state racing stewards. The hearing, originally scheduled for Oct. 17, has been continued until Nov. 14. The maximum penalty Wood may receive from the stewards is a $500 fine and a 60-day license suspension. The stewards may refer the case to Wade Turner, director of the Arizona Department of Racing, for additional action.

The Wood case is the first reported case of live-lure training in Arizona. The racing department has turned the case over to Craig C. Cameron of the Pinal County Attorney's Office in Florence, Arizona, for criminal prosecution. The department has recommended that Class 6 animal cruelty charges be filed. Forty-four greyhound breeding and training facilities are licensed to operate throughout the state.

Sources: The Arizona Republic: Mary Jo Pitzl Arizona Dept. of Racing Investigation