It looks like it may finally be the end of an era…and that’s a good thing.

Thanks to the troubling economy, Greyhound racing appears to be in a steep decline.

Racing fans blame the loss of interest not only on the economy but also on competition from instant gambling like slot machines. Activists however, just say it’s time to end the races altogether.

For years, fans of greyhound races have faced off against animal welfare activists who say the dogs are kept muzzled in small cages, fed inferior food, injected with steroids and frequently injured at the track. Dog breeders, owners and racing lobbyists counter that the dogs are well-tended and love to run.

Greyhounds live an average of 12 years and run between 42 and 45 mph, making them the fastest dogs in the world. Most racing dogs are between 1 1/2 to 5 years old.

Ann Church, senior director of government relations for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been fighting the industry since the 1970s when dogs were “trained on live rabbits, kittens and other small animals,” she said.

“Racing is dangerous,” she said. “As they go around the different turns, they are prone to crashing into each other. Their legs get mixed up and they go down and when they go down, there are often broken bones, punctured lungs and other problems.” Church also says the dogs are fed a low grade of food not fit for human consumption.

As the industry has lost money, Church claims conditions for the dogs have degenerated. “Dogs are confined, often with their muzzles on, for 20 hours a day because there are not enough people to care for them,” she said. “The irony that a dog that so much likes to run is kept in a cage 20 hours a day is heartbreaking.”

But Gary Guccione, executive director of the National Greyhound Association says kennel crates are “very comfortable and plenty big enough. They jump into them gladly.” They are padded with carpeting or shredded paper and the “crate is their home, their room, their happy place.” He also says the chance of injury per race start is less than one-tenth of 1 percent.

Guccione also says Greyhound farm inspections have been conducted since 1987 through a joint effort of the NGA and the American Greyhound Council, “We find the vast majority of farms to be in great condition and the greyhounds on those farms are in great condition,” he says.