Update: The response to our petition to end Greyhound racing in the U.S. has exceeded our expectations—it garnered 100,000 signatures within its first week and is officially one of the top 100 active U.S. petitions on Change.org. Please help us keep the momentum going for these suffering dogs: add your name and let’s hit 200,000 signatures!

Visit www.change.org/highstakes to take action now.

This post was originally published on February 11, 2015.

The ASPCA and Greyhound-protection group GREY2K USA yesterday released “High Stakes,” the first-ever national report to comprehensively document the current state of the Greyhound racing industry in the United States.

The eye-opening report [PDF] includes devastating data on the number of deaths (909) and injuries (11,000) suffered by racing Greyhounds from 2008 to 2014—however, these are just the verifiable, reported figures. Along with Alabama, Florida, which is home to more than half of the nation’s active dog racing tracks, does not require Greyhound injuries to be reported at all.

"People don't realize how treacherous the life of a racing Greyhound dog is—broken legs, skulls, backs, severed toes, electrocution, even cardiac arrest because of the stress," says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. "We want people to understand these aren’t dogs playing in a dog park—they are literally running for their lives."

Once their racing days are over, some dogs are killed, others are put into breeding programs, and a relatively small percentage are fortunate enough to be placed for adoption—but no one knows where the vast majority of the estimated 80,000 Greyhounds born into dog racing have ended up.

Due to declining attendance as the public grows increasingly outraged by this “sport,” gaming operations are losing tens of millions of dollars by operating racetracks. States are losing money, too, because it costs more to regulate Greyhound racing than it generates in tax revenue. “This cruel ‘sport’ continues to exploit Greyhounds despite public outcry and overwhelming financial losses,” says Perry. The seven states with active tracks are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Texas and West Virginia. By contrast, 39 states have passed outright bans on dog racing.

In conjunction with the release of High Stakes, the ASPCA and GREY2K USA are urging state legislators to bring an end to this inherently cruel sport.

You can help—please visit www.change.org/highstakes to sign our petition to the governors of the seven racing states asking them to support an end to dog racing.