Horse Racing

Horse Racing

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/horse/ALL/1344//

Most people regard horse racing as a harmless sport in which the animals are willing participants who thoroughly enjoy the thrill. The truth is that, behind the scenes, lies a story of immense suffering.

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Approximately 12,000 foals are born into the closely-related British and Irish racing industries each year, yet fewer than 50 per cent go on to become racers. Those horses who do not make the grade may be slaughtered for meat or repeatedly change hands in a downward spiral of neglect. Of those horses who do go on to race, around 420 are raced to death every year.
Very rarely do you hear of the horses that have died, either as a result of a fall or after crossing the finishing line;  many die after the race from heart attacks or internal bleeding, but you will never hear of them.
I would suggest anyone interested in actual fatalities as a result of racing to view the following,
http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/  then & only then will you get an idea of how cruel this sport of kings really is.
Use of the Whip – A Hiding To Nothing
Animal Aid embarked upon an investigation of the use of the whip in British horse racing assuming we would find evidence that the welfare of horses was being compromised. What we did not anticipate was that our analysis would produce such clear, statistically-rooted evidence that use of the whip is counter-productive in terms of producing winners. A Hiding to Nothing is launched to mark Horse Racing Awareness Week 2004
The survey details the whip being used on young horses during their first ever race. Horses in a state of total exhaustion and out of contention were also beaten. The whip was used on the neck and shoulders, as well as the hind quarters. Horses being whipped 20, even 30, times during a race were observed
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