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A proposed ballot initiative for November could slow down racing at Tucson Greyhound Park.

Tucson Dog Protection, a newly formed animal welfare group that is critical of the racing industry's handling of greyhounds, is pushing a ballot measure in the one-square-mile city of South Tucson to dramatically alter animal treatment.

The initiative would apply to all South Tucson dogs, but there is little doubt its three major thrusts target dogs at the track. The thrusts are:

● Dogs kept in crates or cages of a certain size would have to be let outside at least six hours a day. On days they are not racing, greyhounds are currently let out of their cages four times a day for a total of about an hour.

● Female dogs could no longer be given anabolic steroids, a common practice used to keep them from going into heat while sharing kennels with male greyhounds.

● Dogs could no longer be fed raw meat from "diseased, dying or disabled animals," or animals that arrive dead to slaughterhouses. Greyhound racers are often fed raw, low-grade meat that comes from dead livestock and dog food.

"I think these are pretty modest steps," said Susan Via, a former U.S. attorney who helped write the initiative. "It would affect all dogs in South Tucson, but, of course, there are many dogs held at the track."

A recent count by the state's Department of Racing found there were 493 racing greyhounds at seven of Tucson Greyhound Park's kennels and another 47 retired racers in the pet kennel. Although the dogs are kept at the track, they belong to individual owners.

To get the initiative on the ballot, Via and others will need to collect 72 signatures from South Tucson residents and turn them in to the city by July 3. Via said her group is well on its way to meeting that number.

The track has been a favorite target of opponents of greyhound racing, partly because of its reputation as an "end-of-the-line" track where greyhounds tend to end their racing careers, and partly because of recent controversies around missing retired greyhounds.

While Via acknowledged the track's reputation troubled her, she said she is not aligned with any anti-racing groups, and she simply wants to improve the dogs' living conditions.

"If this would pass, the track would have to make, in my humble opinion, major modifications in the way they house dogs," she said.

But Tom Taylor, general manager for the track, had a different take, calling the initiative "an attack" on the track and a "horrible idea."

Still, he said that "it won't affect us at all. It just won't. We will just do what we need to do."

He said the dogs are already let out four times a day for 15 minutes to a half-hour each time, and that to let them out any longer would expose them to too much sun.

As far as serving dogs raw meat, Taylor said kennels at the track are equipped with kitchens and the trainers would have to adjust.

As for the steroid shots, finding an alternative may prove trickier.

The track is not equipped to separate males and females, and the prospect of dogs in heat raises the specter of fights, Taylor said. There is the possibility of using a pill that would keep dogs from going into heat, but Taylor said the pills destroy dogs' livers within two years.

At any rate, even if the measure is approved by voters, Taylor doesn't expect it to affect the track.

"We will go actively toward grandfathering Tucson Greyhound Park to the ordinance," he said.

Geoffrey Gonsher, executive director for the state's Department of Racing, said the proposed initiative would probably indirectly affect the track. The margins for trainers and dog owners tend to be small, he said, and, as such, their costs would go up.

"It would certainly increase the cost of owning and training the animals," Gonsher said. "It's a marginal business for some of these owners and trainers, and depending on what the increase is, it could put them out of business, and that would certainly affect the track itself."