Have Your Say On Greyhounds

[corvus]

This is an opportunity for anyone who wants to share their opinion (anonymously) on how racing greyhounds should be managed.

http://latrobepsy.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7VucTyWqoUdQAaF

[HazyWal]

Oh this'll be good O.o

[Maddy]

Oh this'll be good O.o

The results should make for some interesting reading. I have a feeling that this will soon be all over the anti pages and they'll be encouraging all their supporters to respond in a particular way.

To be honest, I doubt anything useful will come of this particular survey but I am pleased to see GRNSW are (apparently) looking to make changes based on welfare science, rather than whatever is best for trainers or whatever the anti racing people demand.

[WreckitWhippet]

Oh this'll be good O.o

The results should make for some interesting reading. I have a feeling that this will soon be all over the anti pages and they'll be encouraging all their supporters to respond in a particular way.

To be honest, I doubt anything useful will come of this particular survey but I am pleased to see GRNSW are (apparently) looking to make changes based on welfare science, rather than whatever is best for trainers or whatever the anti racing people demand.

My thoughts exactly.

I spent quite a while completing it last night and then thought why have I bothered.

ETA: and to top it off McGreevy is involved so what a complete waste of time it has been.

Edited June 17, 2015 by WreckitWhippet

[corvus]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

[Kirislin]

I did it.

[Stressmagnet]

Done.

[WreckitWhippet]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

pffftt McGreevy has always been in it for himself

as for the results, they will be a direct reflection of the anti racing, anti dog and the average rescue numpty.

[HazyWal]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

You know what happens when one assumes?

It's a bit rich to say those of us involved in greyhounds don't care and as far as saying put your money where your mouth is, well that's just insulting. You know a lot about the industry do you corvus or just what you read on social media and watch on 4Corners? As others have said this will just be another platform for the wackos and the nutjobs to spew their uninformed opinions, they will be told how to answer the questions. Just reading through it for example the question that asks if greyhounds should be socialised with other breeds while racing. Now that will be an overwhelming yes by the people who have NFI, the people that think a trainer should have an elite athlete romping around a dog park making friends. Do you have any idea what damage can be done? Maybe WreckitWhippet can post a photo of the damage done to her greyhound that ended it's racing career. I have given blood, sweat and tears to greyhound rescue so don't dare tell me that because I can't be bothered filling out a pointless survey that I don't care.

You have no idea...it really is just as simple as that.

[Stressmagnet]

I just answered honestly.

Maybe no one will care about what I think.

Maybe the results won't be what I hope.

But I do know that if I don't bother to even fill the survey in - my thoughts definitely won't matter.

[Diana R]

Guys relax :) The people working on this project come from really varied backgrounds (I know, because I work directly with some of them here in Victoria) and the results aren't decided by vote count. The whole idea of a survey like this is to find out what different people, who come from different backgrounds, know, understand and think about the topic, and to identify areas that would benefit from further investigations and those that we probably don't need to devote resources to at this point in time. The researchers WANT people from many different backgrounds to fill out the survey - that's why they are trying to spread it far and wide and have encouraged people from within the industry and even people from OS greyhound groups (both for and against grey racing) to participate.

No one person is going to decide what areas get attention and how the research proceeds and the group working on this project is made up of people from varied backgrounds; people from the greyhound industry, the Working Dog Alliance, The Anthrozoology Research Group and from academia (both welfare and anthrozoology based) are all involved - and the survey isn't a stand alone piece of research, it's part of the information gathering step of designing good research that will hopefully contribute to the industry (which might include helping them to educate the public on what actually happens). If you are involved with greys, I encourage you to get as many people, from as many different backgrounds as you can to participate.

IF you want to ask questions directly to the main people at the head of this research, I suggest you head over to the ARG Facebook page and ask there as that is where you have the best chance of getting an answer directly from the researchers themselves.

Hope this helps to allay some people's concerns!

Edited June 18, 2015 by Diana R

[Diana R]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

You know what happens when one assumes?

It's a bit rich to say those of us involved in greyhounds don't care and as far as saying put your money where your mouth is, well that's just insulting. You know a lot about the industry do you corvus or just what you read on social media and watch on 4Corners? As others have said this will just be another platform for the wackos and the nutjobs to spew their uninformed opinions, they will be told how to answer the questions. Just reading through it for example the question that asks if greyhounds should be socialised with other breeds while racing. Now that will be an overwhelming yes by the people who have NFI, the people that think a trainer should have an elite athlete romping around a dog park making friends. Do you have any idea what damage can be done? Maybe WreckitWhippet can post a photo of the damage done to her greyhound that ended it's racing career. I have given blood, sweat and tears to greyhound rescue so don't dare tell me that because I can't be bothered filling out a pointless survey that I don't care.

You have no idea...it really is just as simple as that.

At risk of getting involved in what appears to be a pre-existing relationship, I think you might have misunderstood what Corvus meant about you caring and assuming - she 'assumed' that you DO care about the industry and that is why you spent so long thinking about it. We're much more familiar and comfortable with research than your average member of the public (I don't mean that in a bad way, but both Corvus and I are scientists who work with dogs so it's what we do), so sometimes it's hard for us to understand the reluctance of some people to use their voice in a situation like this where one well-worded answer could raise a point that the researchers hadn't considered and change the direction of their research. Like I said above, of course the researchers are going to identify trends, but the focus of the work that will come out of this survey isn't decided by popular vote (or even only by the results of this survey as there's lots of other things being considered) - this is purely about gathering info, so the researchers aren't going in with an idea of what the results 'should' be, as it's not that type of work. All they want is lots of info, from lots of different people, with varying amounts of direct or indirect involvement with greyhound racing - nothing sinister :)

[gapvic]

The retirement question (ie why do most greyhounds stop racing) left off what is, I believe, the most common reason why greyhounds no longer race - they are too slow to be competitive.

[tjhowell]

Hi everyone,

I am one of the researchers on this project, and I am responsible for the day to day running of the survey.

First of all, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has completed the survey. We really appreciate you taking the time to make your opinions known.

For people who have concerns, this is to be expected in a topic which is controversial. As Diana said, we are looking for a variety of responses from all over the spectrum, including industry members, animal advocacy groups, veterinarians, and the general public (among others). We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to have their say about an issue that many people are clearly passionate about.

If you have any questions that you would like to ask me directly, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Thanks very much,

Tiffani Howell

[Maddy]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

You know what happens when one assumes?

It's a bit rich to say those of us involved in greyhounds don't care and as far as saying put your money where your mouth is, well that's just insulting. You know a lot about the industry do you corvus or just what you read on social media and watch on 4Corners? As others have said this will just be another platform for the wackos and the nutjobs to spew their uninformed opinions, they will be told how to answer the questions. Just reading through it for example the question that asks if greyhounds should be socialised with other breeds while racing. Now that will be an overwhelming yes by the people who have NFI, the people that think a trainer should have an elite athlete romping around a dog park making friends. Do you have any idea what damage can be done? Maybe WreckitWhippet can post a photo of the damage done to her greyhound that ended it's racing career. I have given blood, sweat and tears to greyhound rescue so don't dare tell me that because I can't be bothered filling out a pointless survey that I don't care.

You have no idea...it really is just as simple as that.

At risk of getting involved in what appears to be a pre-existing relationship, I think you might have misunderstood what Corvus meant about you caring and assuming - she 'assumed' that you DO care about the industry and that is why you spent so long thinking about it. We're much more familiar and comfortable with research than your average member of the public (I don't mean that in a bad way, but both Corvus and I are scientists who work with dogs so it's what we do), so sometimes it's hard for us to understand the reluctance of some people to use their voice in a situation like this where one well-worded answer could raise a point that the researchers hadn't considered and change the direction of their research. Like I said above, of course the researchers are going to identify trends, but the focus of the work that will come out of this survey isn't decided by popular vote (or even only by the results of this survey as there's lots of other things being considered) - this is purely about gathering info, so the researchers aren't going in with an idea of what the results 'should' be, as it's not that type of work. All they want is lots of info, from lots of different people, with varying amounts of direct or indirect involvement with greyhound racing - nothing sinister :)

If that is the case, I'd expect questions that had actually been researched (to ensure the answers they got were actually useful).

I'll give you an example here..

What percentage of dogs should end up being adopted as pets when their training or racing career is over?

Is this question asking what percentage of dogs should be assessed for suitability for rehoming? Or which percentage of assessed dogs should be rehomed? Or even which percentage of assessed dogs would we like to see being assessed as rehomable?

I assumed the first question was what was meant. Someone else might assume the second or even third and answer with that interpretation in mind. When you ask questions that suggest a lack of insight into how rehoming works, you're going to end up with unusable answers.

But by all means, continue to assume us simple plebs don't understand how research works :)

[Diana R]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

You know what happens when one assumes?

It's a bit rich to say those of us involved in greyhounds don't care and as far as saying put your money where your mouth is, well that's just insulting. You know a lot about the industry do you corvus or just what you read on social media and watch on 4Corners? As others have said this will just be another platform for the wackos and the nutjobs to spew their uninformed opinions, they will be told how to answer the questions. Just reading through it for example the question that asks if greyhounds should be socialised with other breeds while racing. Now that will be an overwhelming yes by the people who have NFI, the people that think a trainer should have an elite athlete romping around a dog park making friends. Do you have any idea what damage can be done? Maybe WreckitWhippet can post a photo of the damage done to her greyhound that ended it's racing career. I have given blood, sweat and tears to greyhound rescue so don't dare tell me that because I can't be bothered filling out a pointless survey that I don't care.

You have no idea...it really is just as simple as that.

At risk of getting involved in what appears to be a pre-existing relationship, I think you might have misunderstood what Corvus meant about you caring and assuming - she 'assumed' that you DO care about the industry and that is why you spent so long thinking about it. We're much more familiar and comfortable with research than your average member of the public (I don't mean that in a bad way, but both Corvus and I are scientists who work with dogs so it's what we do), so sometimes it's hard for us to understand the reluctance of some people to use their voice in a situation like this where one well-worded answer could raise a point that the researchers hadn't considered and change the direction of their research. Like I said above, of course the researchers are going to identify trends, but the focus of the work that will come out of this survey isn't decided by popular vote (or even only by the results of this survey as there's lots of other things being considered) - this is purely about gathering info, so the researchers aren't going in with an idea of what the results 'should' be, as it's not that type of work. All they want is lots of info, from lots of different people, with varying amounts of direct or indirect involvement with greyhound racing - nothing sinister :)

If that is the case, I'd expect questions that had actually been researched (to ensure the answers they got were actually useful).

I'll give you an example here..

What percentage of dogs should end up being adopted as pets when their training or racing career is over?

Is this question asking what percentage of dogs should be assessed for suitability for rehoming? Or which percentage of assessed dogs should be rehomed? Or even which percentage of assessed dogs would we like to see being assessed as rehomable?

I assumed the first question was what was meant. Someone else might assume the second or even third and answer with that interpretation in mind. When you ask questions that suggest a lack of insight into how rehoming works, you're going to end up with unusable answers.

But by all means, continue to assume us simple plebs don't understand how research works :)

I'm not part of the research group, so I'm making an educated guess on why questions were worded they way they were. My guess is that the question is actually trying to gauge what degree of 'wastage' people feel is acceptable. Obviously the more you know about the industry, the nature of the dogs and rehoming process, the more realistic you will be about the actual number of dogs that don't go on to become pets after racing, and the more able you are to justify your answer and ask questions like the ones you have - that will change how you feel about the situation and what number you feel comfortable writing. Others may automatically write 100%, or 90% or 10% (and those numbers may or may not correlate with how much knowledge people demonstrate in other questions that were asked). The question isn't aimed at giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, or even at finding out how the rehoming process works and why there is wastage, as such, how 'useable' the answers are completely depends on what info the researchers are trying to get from them.

If you want to know more though, I'd suggest you contact the researchers directly - Tiffani has given her email above :)

Edited June 18, 2015 by Diana R

[Maddy]

You bothered because you care, one assumes.

This is the greyhound industry asking people what they think. Don't waste the opportunity to respond by convincing yourself there is no point because somehow it's guaranteed that you won't be heard or somehow the people involved in conducting the research will have some sway over the results and how they are interpreted. Everyone has one voice, here, no more. The results will reflect the voices of everyone who bothered to fill it out. If you care, then put your money where your mouth is and make your voice one of them. It really is just as simple as that. And accept that maybe your voice is in the minority, but that doesn't mean it won't be heard.

You know what happens when one assumes?

It's a bit rich to say those of us involved in greyhounds don't care and as far as saying put your money where your mouth is, well that's just insulting. You know a lot about the industry do you corvus or just what you read on social media and watch on 4Corners? As others have said this will just be another platform for the wackos and the nutjobs to spew their uninformed opinions, they will be told how to answer the questions. Just reading through it for example the question that asks if greyhounds should be socialised with other breeds while racing. Now that will be an overwhelming yes by the people who have NFI, the people that think a trainer should have an elite athlete romping around a dog park making friends. Do you have any idea what damage can be done? Maybe WreckitWhippet can post a photo of the damage done to her greyhound that ended it's racing career. I have given blood, sweat and tears to greyhound rescue so don't dare tell me that because I can't be bothered filling out a pointless survey that I don't care.

You have no idea...it really is just as simple as that.

At risk of getting involved in what appears to be a pre-existing relationship, I think you might have misunderstood what Corvus meant about you caring and assuming - she 'assumed' that you DO care about the industry and that is why you spent so long thinking about it. We're much more familiar and comfortable with research than your average member of the public (I don't mean that in a bad way, but both Corvus and I are scientists who work with dogs so it's what we do), so sometimes it's hard for us to understand the reluctance of some people to use their voice in a situation like this where one well-worded answer could raise a point that the researchers hadn't considered and change the direction of their research. Like I said above, of course the researchers are going to identify trends, but the focus of the work that will come out of this survey isn't decided by popular vote (or even only by the results of this survey as there's lots of other things being considered) - this is purely about gathering info, so the researchers aren't going in with an idea of what the results 'should' be, as it's not that type of work. All they want is lots of info, from lots of different people, with varying amounts of direct or indirect involvement with greyhound racing - nothing sinister :)

If that is the case, I'd expect questions that had actually been researched (to ensure the answers they got were actually useful).

I'll give you an example here..

What percentage of dogs should end up being adopted as pets when their training or racing career is over?

Is this question asking what percentage of dogs should be assessed for suitability for rehoming? Or which percentage of assessed dogs should be rehomed? Or even which percentage of assessed dogs would we like to see being assessed as rehomable?

I assumed the first question was what was meant. Someone else might assume the second or even third and answer with that interpretation in mind. When you ask questions that suggest a lack of insight into how rehoming works, you're going to end up with unusable answers.

But by all means, continue to assume us simple plebs don't understand how research works :)

I'm not part of the research group, so I'm making an educated guess on why questions were worded they way they were. My guess is that the question is actually trying to gauge what degree of 'wastage' people feel is acceptable. Obviously the more you know about the industry, the nature of the dogs and rehoming process, the more realistic you will be about the actual number of dogs that don't go on to become pets after racing, and the more able you are to justify your answer and ask questions like the ones you have - that will change how you feel about the situation and what number you feel comfortable writing. Others may automatically write 100%, or 90% or 10% (and those numbers may or may not correlate with how much knowledge people demonstrate in other questions that were asked). The question isn't aimed at giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, or even at finding out how the rehoming process works and why there is wastage, as such, how 'useable' the answers are completely depends on what info the researchers are trying to get from them.

If you want to know more though, I'd suggest you contact the researchers directly - Tiffani has given her email above :)

You are missing my point.

That one question is going to yield different answers based on what the person answering thinks the question means. It's not one question, it's several questions. If 40% of people think it means example A, 50% think it means example B and 10% think it means example C, you are going to have three different sets of data for one question with no way of knowing which example the person thought they were answering.

It has nothing to do with the respondent's knowledge of the industry, it's about the knowledge of the people writing the questions. If the people who write the questions haven't bothered to do their research, you're going to end up with bad questions, like the example given.

Edited to add condescending smiley face. :)

Edited June 18, 2015 by Maddy

[Diana R]

As both myself and Tiffani have said above, please feel free to contact the researchers directly and tell them how you feel, Maddy.

I'm not sure why you feel that I'm being condescending as that's not my intention at all, but that's the limitations of online communication with people you don't know in person I suppose.

[Rebanne]

I had no trouble answering the survey.

[Maddy]

As both myself and Tiffani have said above, please feel free to contact the researchers directly and tell them how you feel, Maddy.

I'm not sure why you feel that I'm being condescending as that's not my intention at all, but that's the limitations of online communication with people you don't know in person I suppose.

Why? I'd assume scientists would be much more familiar and comfortable with research than members of the public?

If the researchers don't understand the topic and how to write questions that will yield the most accurate data for that topic, perhaps they should have spent some time beforehand learning about the industry and all of the groups within it or affected by it?

Anyways, I've voiced my opinion of the issues with this survey and it's not my money being wasted so..