Baaheeduk
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I put this in general chat as it's up for discussion. Last year 11 horses had to be destroyed during the Cheltenham festival and they have had to destroy one today, the first day.
What do you peeps think? is it bordering on cruelty?
Here some extracts from "This unsporting life"
Previous estimates – even by animal protection groups such as Animal Aid – have suggested a maximum figure of 300 annual equine deaths. Our new investigation shows that around 375 horses who are entered into races each season die from their injuries; or they are killed because they are considered of no further commercial value, even though they are young enough to continue racing. However, this total is almost certainly short of the true figure. This is because our data is drawn from the Official Form Book, which does not list all deaths
Reasons for horses being destroyed include broken legs, back, neck and pelvis; fatal spinal injuries, exhaustion, heart attack, and burst blood vessels in the lungs.
To the 375 racing casualties must be added the far larger, but unrecorded, number of ‘inferior specimens’ who are disposed of annually before they ever get to race – and the animals who are killed at the end of their racing careers, instead of receiving a properly-funded retirement. These victims probably total several thousand annually.
This report concentrates on the racing casualties. About 30% of the 375 annual victims die on the racecourse itself. This is an extraordinarily high figure given that the 59 British courses each stage, on average, a mere 12 racing days every year.
While some 30% of annual fatalities occur during, or immediately after a race, the remainder are killed because of injuries received in training, or after being assessed by their owners as no-hopers.
The four most hazardous of all the country’s courses are run by racing’s own governing body, the Jockey Club. These are Cheltenham, Aintree, Warwick and Carlisle. From just 54 days racing at Cheltenham, there were no fewer than 21 on-course deaths.
What do you peeps think? is it bordering on cruelty?
Here some extracts from "This unsporting life"
Previous estimates – even by animal protection groups such as Animal Aid – have suggested a maximum figure of 300 annual equine deaths. Our new investigation shows that around 375 horses who are entered into races each season die from their injuries; or they are killed because they are considered of no further commercial value, even though they are young enough to continue racing. However, this total is almost certainly short of the true figure. This is because our data is drawn from the Official Form Book, which does not list all deaths
Reasons for horses being destroyed include broken legs, back, neck and pelvis; fatal spinal injuries, exhaustion, heart attack, and burst blood vessels in the lungs.
To the 375 racing casualties must be added the far larger, but unrecorded, number of ‘inferior specimens’ who are disposed of annually before they ever get to race – and the animals who are killed at the end of their racing careers, instead of receiving a properly-funded retirement. These victims probably total several thousand annually.
This report concentrates on the racing casualties. About 30% of the 375 annual victims die on the racecourse itself. This is an extraordinarily high figure given that the 59 British courses each stage, on average, a mere 12 racing days every year.
While some 30% of annual fatalities occur during, or immediately after a race, the remainder are killed because of injuries received in training, or after being assessed by their owners as no-hopers.
The four most hazardous of all the country’s courses are run by racing’s own governing body, the Jockey Club. These are Cheltenham, Aintree, Warwick and Carlisle. From just 54 days racing at Cheltenham, there were no fewer than 21 on-course deaths.
