VERO BEACH — The Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County will be hosting a free animal advocacy program to discuss upcoming animal legislation in Florida for the 2015 legislative session.
The program will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, located at 6230 77th St., Vero Beach.
The evening’s guest speakers will be Carey Theil, executive director of the national greyhound advocacy organization Grey2KUSA and Kate MacFall, Florida State director for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). This talk is open to the public and refreshments will be served.
While several important animal protection issues will be covered, the program will highlight mandatory injury reporting for Florida’s racing greyhounds and greyhound track “decoupling”: legislation to remove the mandate that greyhound race tracks with other forms of betting must hold live races as a “loss leader.”
This program comes at a critical time. A recent investigation by “Miami Herald” revealed that Florida’s lax regulations have allowed convicted felons to own and train racing greyhounds. In other cases where dogs tested positive for illicit drugs like cocaine or showed signs of other neglect and abuse, regulators often took years to impose a penalty.
The investigation has resulted in state Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, Matt Gaetz, R-Shalimar, and John Wood, R-Winter Haven, demanding that state regulators provide them with answers to questions involving animal cruelty and abuse allegations.