The Fast and the Furious

With a flexible spine, strong legs and a sleek build, the greyhound is built for speed -- up to 45 mph. It is the fastest dog in the world.

"In the 10th century, King Howel of Wales declared that the penalty for killing a greyhound was the same as that of killing a person -- death," writes Rebecca Simmons in a Humane Society report. "In the days of the Egyptians, greyhounds were valued by the pharaohs for their grace, beauty and mild temperament."

But more recently in its 6,000-year history, the greyhound has been exploited for its speed. Primarily bred for coursing -- the pursuit of game animals such as deer and hare -- the greyhound became a race dog in the 1920s in the United States, followed soon after by the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

These countries along with Australia and New Zealand have major greyhound racing events. Nations with smaller greyhound racing industries include Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Sweden and Vietnam.

The sport has long been been criticized for animal abuse and cruelty -- racing greyhounds are frequently injured and when they can no longer race they are killed. Most of their lives are spent locked up in kennels. It is a brutal existence.

Thankfully, pressure from animal advocacy groups has recently resulted in the end of greyhound racing in Rhode Island. In the United States, where some states prohibit greyhound racing, profits are dwindling as demand for the sport withers. But in other countries, it's a different story.

In the Philippines, two bills are making their way through Congress that would start greyhound racing on the islands of Cebu and Luzon. In South Africa, where a current ban is in place, the Department of Trade and Industry is investigating the sport's legalization.

"In the long run, the greyhound kills the hare," goes the old proverb. But that is certainly not true. In the long run, the human kills the greyhound.