The Greyhound: A Story of Fashion, Finances, and Animal Rights

Abstract

While the variety of blood sports featuring dogs may be large and their historical roots deep, the oldest of all is associated with the greyhound. In the contemporary era the greyhound is associated with racing around a track that is bordered by an arena chasing a mechanical lure. However, this is but the latest incarnation of the use of greyhounds in sport. The beginning of the story lies with the use of hounds that would later evolve into greyhounds for hunting across Europe. It is suggested that even by AD 150 the transition from hunting with hounds purely for food to hunting as at least a partially leisure-based activity had begun (Stonehenge, 1875). The first treatise on the sport of coursing is accredited to the Roman Arrian (whose civilization is reported to have taken part in the sport) yet he accredits the notion of coursing to another civilization; in this case the ancient Greeks, while at the same time recognizing the ancient Gauls to have been amongst the earliest proponents of the sport of coursing (Blane, 1788; Lennox, 1862a).