Thousands of racing greyhounds in Florida will need new homes by the end of 2020

Florida voters have struck a surprisingly decisive blow to greyhound racing, endorsing a move that will ban sport in their state by the end of 2020.

Amendment 13, which needed 60% approval to become law, earned Tuesday over 5.3 million votes, up from 69%.

The passage of the radical measure means that dog racing on 11 Florida tracks, with between 5,000 and 7,000 greyhounds, will be closed by December 31, 2020.

Officials on both sides of the poll on Wednesday promised to find new homes for these unemployed greyhounds.

Jim Gartland, executive director of the national group of the dog racing industry, the National Greyhound Association, said that 98% of retired runners are regularly adopted by their families. And an overwhelming majority of the remaining 2% live on the farm and work as ranchers, he added.

"We will do everything in our power to make sure everyone is adopted," Gartland told NBC News on Wednesday.

The head of the Humane Society Florida, Kate MacFall, at the forefront of the campaign on Amendment 13, said that her phone has been ringing since the beginning of Wednesday with calls from future greyhound owners.

"These are extraordinary pets, so sweet and so sweet," said MacFall. "They are really nice giants."

All greyhounds in Florida will not be released immediately, as dog racing will no longer be illegal in the Sunshine State for 25 months. Both parties expect a gradual shutdown of these routes over the next two years.

The state is home to 11 of the 17 American dog tracks, and greyhounds also run in West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Iowa.

Even before Tuesday's vote, dog racing in Florida has been losing ground for years. In 1992, inflation-adjusted dog racing bets were $ 1.5 billion, up from just $ 200 million in 2017, according to the company's records. ;State.

"It's a blow to this industry," MacFall said. "This (vote) shows that people care about dogs and that people know (dog racing) are cruel and inhumane."

MacFall admitted that she and other supporters had been surprised by the last margin of victory.

"We thought it would be close, we did not think it would be that high, it turned out to be a landslide," said MacFall, "I mean we can not agree on anything here in Florida, but on this point we had bipartite support.

Gartland also said Tuesday's final tally earned him the score.

"It was pretty amazing, I was very surprised," said Gartland, shot.