roponents of a ballot initiative to outlaw dog racing brought scarred greyhounds and graphic images to Beacon Hill yesterday, but opponents attacked those examples as having little to do with Massachusetts.
At a press conference called by sponsors of Question 3, Robin Norton, founder of GreysLand adoption center in Hopkinton, showed photos of former racing dogs the center had cared for that were so malnourished their bones were popping out of their skin. Organizers also brought to the front of the room four greyhounds, some with scars and one with a splint on a hind leg.
''There's nothing so sad,'' said Norton, a veterinarian. ''Can you imagine if they were golden retrievers?''
Opponents, meanwhile, accuse the initiative's sponsors of being out of touch with the realities of greyhound racing here.
''Because someone did something, somewhere to a greyhound, they want to indict, convict and economically execute 1,200 people who take good care of their dogs in Massachusetts,'' said Glenn Totten, spokesman of the Massachusetts Animal Interest Coalition, which is against the initiative.
The state's two dog tracks pay $17 million annually to 1,200 employees and provide another $9 million in taxes to their communities and state.
At the press conference called by Grey2K, which is sponsoring Question 3 on November's ballot, proponents could not confirm if all of their information was about dogs from Massachusetts.
''Dogs are born in Missouri, they're raced in Massachusetts, they're raced in Florida, and then they are killed in Arizona,'' said Carey Theil, a Grey2K spokesman. ''It's a vicious cycle.''
Grey2K accused its chief opponent, the pro-racing Massachusetts Animal Interest Coalition, of accepting ''blood money'' in campaign contributions from three tracks in Florida and Idaho that have allegedly abused greyhounds.
Totten bristled at that charge. ''They're coming up with all these little things that have nothing to do with racing in Massachusetts,'' he said. ''I think a lot of people that support Question 3 are decent human beings, who have been misled by very sensational and inaccurate information.''
Robert M. Hutchinson Jr., chairman of the State Racing Commission, said yesterday he could not comment on the alleged contributions to the pro-racing group or the alleged misinformation by Grey2K. But he said the state conducts reviews of the two tracks in Massachusetts - Wonderland in Revere and Raynham/Taunton Greyhound Park - through visits of inspectors, veterinarians, and State Police, and there have been no reported violations.
''Some people have decided to blame Massachusetts for the sins of some other place,'' Hutchinson said. ''But a responsible person should weigh the facts. If you told me that [residents in] Raynham or Taunton or Revere, were bringing up this initiative then I'd say, `Maybe it's time to be reviewed.' But they're not.''
