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SA to Legalise Greyhound Racing
23 February 2009
by Kiara Miller

The South African government banned greyhound racing in the 1940’s but the sport may soon be legal again. Public hearings are to be held in Port Elizabeth at the University’s law department on Friday, the 20th February, as part of the national Department of Trade & Industry initiative to examine the sport.

It is expected that a large number of people will attend the hearings. Amatwini is the company that is driving to have the sport legalized again. This move is being hotly contested by animal rights groups, who say that racing greyhounds is cruel.

Amatwini claims that the initial banning was due to the sport being considered as a ‘social evil’ and that is was not banned because of cruelty to animals. Amatwini Sport Director Andrew Callis was reported as saying “The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is making a bit issue out of this – there are no reported cases of dog abuse or any other conviction because of animal cruelty.”

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