this is the weekly on click Orlando
dot-com with Justin warmoth good morning
I'm Justin Moore myth as Floridians
begin early voting in the midterm
election they're deciding not only on
who they'd like to see an office but
also whether the state's Constitution
should be amended there are 12
amendments on the ballot this year and
some are more divisive than others like
amendment 13 which would end greyhound
racing statewide Florida is one of only
a handful of states still allows racing
and is actually home to 11 of the 17
tracks in the country proponents of the
amendment say the practice of racing
dogs is inhumane opponents argue the
dogs are treated well they enjoy what
they do and hundreds of jobs are at risk
this morning we'll talk with folks on
both sides of the issue
starting with greyhound a kennel owner
AJ grant and AJ thank you so much for
being here and we really thank you so
much for being here be Marilyn Merlot
she's ripped out of the kennel and she's
glad to be here represent her breed yeah
tell us a little bit about your
background with greyhounds I started 32
years ago on a farm Greyhound farm in
Texas and we evolved into kennels in
Texas and then we had a kennel in
Florida and like the current trainer
retired so I got sent up here for six
months to look after the kennel and that
was eight years ago and I'm still here
so yeah they've supposed to go back in
six months I'm just supposed to get the
kennel going and they kept me here and
you spend the majority of her time at
the Orlando Sanford yes Landro Sanford
Kennel Club got it um let's tell us
about an average day for Maryland what
she goes through I know folks who are
trying to figure out what they want to
do when it comes to amendment thirteen
but give us an average day for Maryland
well Maryland we get in the kennel at
around 4:30 and we turned the dogs out
she gets turned out we do their beds we
clean up the kennel you know you get a
lot of dogs it does make quite a mess so
we clean it up for them and you know we
they come back in about 7:00 7:30 and
then you know we we take dogs out to
exercise them you know what dogs need to
be worked before starts you know these
dogs run once a week not for too
five times a day like some people have
said you know she races once a week like
most of my dogs in the kennel and you
know we feed them at 9:30 then we let
them back out you know to go to the
bathroom and we take the racers over the
racetrack
we go over them clip their nails and all
that so basically they get turned out
again
you know 1:30 you know for another an
hour so and then they get back out they
go back out if you know 5:36 and there's
a small turnout of 10 o'clock at night
tell us why florida's and Central
Florida voters in particular should vote
no when it comes to amendment 13
I think they should vote no because you
know it's affecting a lot of people it's
affecting a lot of workers I mean that
Greyhound Racing is not declining
they're only reporting half of what the
money's coming in I mean the Sanford
Orlando track takes in 7 to 8 million
dollars a week and you know if it was
declining if the track wasn't profitable
because we don't have a card room right
we don't have slots so if the track was
not profitable they wouldn't keep the
track open and you know you know these
animals were bred to do one thing and we
take care of them like they're our
babies and you know we use 4 or 5
adoption groups that they come in I have
a waiting list for adoptable greyhounds
I mean I have had a lady's waiting six
months so these dogs do not get
discarded they get adopted out when
their careers are over so the
repercussions of something like this
getting through and getting 60% of the
vote affects people like you does it
affect the dogs as well well there's
going to be what people don't understand
there's wording in the amendment that
tracks have the option to cease racing
January 1st 2019 the misconception that
people have been saying is you have guys
have a two-year phase-out that's not
true these tracks have card rooms and
slot machines can in and racing January
1st 2019 that doesn't I mean you're
talking about a thousand of 2,000
greyhounds they're going to be displaced
immediately you know the adoption groups
can't handle that but you know I'm here
to say that we will
stay until the last dog is adopted out
in the Humane Society and SPCA and great
UK they've all come and said that well
we'll take care of the dogs none of my
dogs are gonna go to a Humane Society
they're gonna go to a reputable adoption
group when you look at the statistics
from 2013 almost 500 dogs have died race
dogs a lot of them have injuries broken
legs
some of them involved in doping when you
look at those statistics and some say
this is not humane for these animals to
go through this one right to tell them
the the numbers don't they don't bode
with what they're saying I mean yes you
know one dog dying is too many but what
they're not telling you is I mean a lot
of these dogs you know contract diseases
you know they get cancer they have heart
problems those statistics are not in
those figures that they release I mean
sure there's probably maybe 15 percent
have been tracked related but the other
percentage that they're not going to
tell you is that these are dogs that
need contract diseases so we do
everything we can to get them vet care
and you know if a dog can contracts
cancer just like a pet what do you do I
mean it hurts you know like I said you
know these are my babies and it hurts
when I lose one buddy do you have I hit
right now I have 86 and you know we we
have we have for animal hospitals that
we use plus a 24-hour facility we have a
vet that's 24 hours but unfortunately
you know it's just life animals do pass
away and and we do everything we can to
make sure that these animals are
humanely treated and they get the best
vet care that we can provide but
unfortunately you know disease strikes
every animal and we can't prevent that
and I'm not around these animals
obviously more than you are right do you
get a sense that that they like to go
out and they like to race these these
dogs love it I mean we've had people
that have adopted dogs for me and
they've come back to the track I mean
we're talking two to three years after
they've adopted and they have to hang
to them when they hear that lure these
dogs don't forget and you know it's just
a shame that this is being forcibly
taken away from an animal that loves to
run and you know we treat these dogs
with the utmost care and like I said you
know it's a sport and unfortunate things
happen but we should be judged on the
care that we give these animals you know
if an unfortunate incident arises 11 out
of the 17 tracks in the United States
are in Florida if race goes through this
industry it's gone yeah it's done I mean
because what they'll do is is they'll go
from Florida then they'll start going
after the other trucks and they'll use
the same mantra the same tactic and it's
just not right a lot of the stuff
they're saying is just not true and
people just need to do their own
research come visit us come see us we'll
show you the dogs you know a dog can't
be cooped up for 23 hours a day and look
like this I mean this dog is full of
muscles you just can't expect an athlete
to get out of bed and exercise two two
hours a day and run you know 30 and a
half seconds and 550 yards it's just not
possible
when you look at the track that you
spend most of your time at Orlando
Sanford it has been there for a long
time since the 20s since the 20s I can't
even go back it's really like a landmark
yeah I mean Lymon high school named
after the greyhounds right for the city
of Longwood and and just for that
stretch of town in particular if it
closes well it would impact it would
impact 300 jobs I mean these are local
jobs and a city along would I mean over
a hundred thousand dollars in tax
revenue this city would loose I mean
been Paris has gone on record saying
that he would hate for this for his city
to have this landmark closed you know
Lyman we had the kids come over you know
with the dogs we would do fundraisers
for him when we had an event you know
race the hounds and they would race
against the dogs but unfortunately you
know a couple ant the animal activists
got to the school board and said it was
cruel which it wasn't and the kids loved
it and the kids were devastated when it
ended
but we raised over $30,000 for the Lyman
high school for their sports department
and that that all went away just because
of two people that didn't like it you
know if you don't like something I mean
society in general too many people or
said I don't like it and people bow into
it and it's just not right and coming up
I'll sit down with one of the key
proponents of amendments een
representative Carlos Guillermo smith of
orlando stay with us this is the weekly
on click orlando comm with justin
warmoth welcome back this morning we're
focusing on one of the twelve amendments
on this year's midterm ballot amendment
thirteen would ban greyhound racing in
Florida were 11 of the 17 tracks across
the country are located before the break
you heard from a kennel owner urging
folks to vote no and in this part of the
interview a key proponent of the
amendment
state representative Carlos Guillermo
Smith let's get into amendment 13 and
why you think Central Floridians should
vote YES on that amendment well the
reason why is because the industry is
cruel and inhumane and that doesn't
really reflect the values of everyday
Floridians you know what we've seen over
the last several years is actually a
greyhound dog dies every three days on
the Florida track they die from things
like electrocution heat exhaustion
broken necks broken backs the cruel
conditions that they're subjected to
when they're forced to race actually are
fatal we also know based on what state
investigators have told us that
Greyhound dogs are kept in cages
confined 20 to 23 hours a day their
cages that are barely large enough for
them to stand up or turn around and the
reality is is that the industry is not
even profiting anymore it's really a
dying industry
the only reason Greyhound Racing even
exists in the state of Florida is
because of a outdated state law that
mandates live racing for those who want
to do gambling and cardrooms inside even
the tracks themselves are wanting this
industry to wind down because they're
losing money off of it so it's important
for voters to know that it's time to end
cruel and inhumane dog racing in the
state of Florida by voting
yes an amendment 13 and what's
interesting too is that on a lot of
amendments it's pretty partisan one side
is siding with yes one side siding with
no and that's where it lies however this
one is a little different there is
bipartisan support for this that's right
I'm a progressive Democrat and I'm
voting YES on amendment thirteen I
recently shot a digital ad in support of
this amendment with a conservative
Republican his name is Mike Hill
Attorney General Pam Bondi supports it
even Governor Rick Scott and the
Democratic nominee for governor
Andrew Gilliam are all voting YES an
amendment 13 in a political environment
where Democrats and Republicans can't
agree on anything it tells you a lot
that we've seen so many high-profile
Democratic and Republican leaders who
are saying yes on 13 to end cruel and
inhumane dog racing so have you been
able to go to these kennels and see it
firsthand of some of these conditions
that these animals go through in the
last two years since I've been a member
of the Florida Legislature I've not been
able to visit the kennels and there's a
really good reason why it's because I
have fought the industry in Tallahassee
I have sponsored legislation with
actually a Republican senator to hold
the greyhound racing industry
accountable because of that I've become
public enemy number one for the
greyhound racing industry and I
absolutely know that when I visit
they're not going to show me what we
need to see but we don't need to because
state regulators have been tracking what
has been going on on greyhound race in
greyhound racing tracks for many years
they have discovered almost 500 drug
positives on greyhound racing dogs that
are forbidden and banned in the industry
including almost 75 cocaine positives on
greyhound racing dogs the state
regulators have found that they were
subjected to being confined in small
cages barely large enough for them to
stand up or turn around 20 to 23 hours a
day it's all been documented the number
of deaths that we've seen since they
were required to report was almost 500
in the last several years which has
resulted in the statistic of a dog dying
every three days in a Florida track the
statistics do not lie and that's why
it's important for voters to vote YES on
13 to shut down cruel and inhumane grand
racing let's now talk about what this
could possibly do to businesses I know
you say that most of them are not
profitable but there are a lot of kennel
owners who still have dozens of dogs
they're worried that those dogs
if this gets approved won't have a place
to go the shelters are full 8,000 or so
dogs what do you think would happen to
those dogs well what we've seen in other
states other states like Massachusetts
have actually banned greyhound racing as
an industry before and what happened
after those measures passed was
greyhound adoption groups from across
the state and across the country have
come in in a massive effort to adopt
those dogs out to loving families and
that's not only in the state where the
practice used to be but also all over
all 50 states in the United States and
sometimes even in Canada
so once amendment 13 passes you've got
about 5,000 Greyhound dogs that need to
be adopted out but we have twenty six
months just over two years to be able to
do it and I'm looking actually forward
to adopting a greyhound of my own when a
Mendham in 13 passes and there is um
there is one little stipulation maybe
when it comes to this amendment and
maybe what some voters won't see it has
the NRA concerned I know you've probably
seen this the NRA fears that a statement
in that statement is in part the human
Treatment of Animals is a fundamental
value of the people they don't like the
language they're they're worried that
that could then turn into a ban on
hunting and fishing what do you have to
say to that it's a bizarre scare tactic
for the NRA to have come in on the issue
of greyhound racing and say that if we
approve greyhound racing then are all
these a variable if we ban it rather
that all of these other things are gonna
happen the reality is is that the NRA
doesn't have any business talking about
greyhound racing and if nra endorsed
candidates like Pam Bondi and Rick Scott
are in favor of banning cruel and
inhumane greyhound racing in the state
of Florida that tells you everything
that you need to know why would they I
mean what comes to mind why would they
want to get involved
I'm not entirely sure to me it was
really a bizarre move for the NRA to get
involved in this and when you listen to
their argument they say oh my god if we
ban greyhound racing the next thing you
know they're gonna ban hunting and
they're gonna ban fishing that's absurd
and laughable even at face value
let's now talk about the amendments and
there are a dozen on there right
this is amendment 1312 is gone so this
is the last one that voters will see
correct is voter fatigue a concern of
yours as as folks move their way down
the ballot and they don't want to read
all of these amendments amendments these
passages do you think that voter fatigue
could hurt you in the long run I hope
not but the good thing about amendment
13 is how simple and straightforward it
is it's literally a sentence long and it
just says this will ban greyhound racing
and wagering on greyhound racing in the
state of Florida it's cut and dry
it couldn't be more simple or
straightforward and the good thing about
amendment 13 is it's not bundled with
unrelated issues like we saw on other
amendments where they stacked and
bundled together unrelated policy areas
and unrelated issues and Confused voters
this is standalone it's do you or do you
not think it's time to shut down cruel
and inhumane greyhound racing in the
state of Florida and if you support the
Greyhound dogs and you don't want to see
to see them subjected to this type of
cruelty you would vote YES on amendment
13 I just had a gentleman in here who is
a kennel owner right and he and he loves
his dogs
he has 80 dogs he says these dogs love
to race love to run love to get outside
this is what they were born to do what
do you have to say to that
that's absurd the dogs don't have a
choice in whether they're able to race
or whether they're not able to race the
dogs don't have a choice they are forced
into conditions that sometimes end in
deaths you see so many electrocutions
sometimes from the dogs that catch up
with the electronic Bunny that they're
chasing and they die from that broken
necks broken backs this is not something
that makes greyhounds happy this is a
cruel and inhumane industry
Florida is one of only a handful of
states left in the country that actually
does this in fact you know there's only
17 tracks left in the United States and
11 of them are right here in the state
of Florida so I think that voters are
ready to finally see an end to the cruel
spectacle by voting YES on 13 now over
the last year our new six investigator
Mike DeForest has done several stories
about greyhound racing and some of the
injuries that dogs have endured you can
find his reports right now on click
Orlando com slash weekly and a reminder
my colleague Mike hole felt and I are
hosting a debate between the candidates
running for Orange County Sheriff you
can watch that live Tuesday night at 7
o'clock right here on news 6 I'm Justin
Morman have a great Sunday
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