PETITION: PLEASE BAN THE GRAND NATIONAL

“I’m sat here thinking of all the horses that will run today! Please pray with me that they all finish safely & return to their homes. Some horses can finish the race but die later that day or the next due to internal injuries sustained whilst racing!” 

Please sign the Petition:–http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/ACTIVE/petition/?id=10&campaign=horse

If your unsure about the Race Horse Industry, or don’t believe it should be banned, please, download Animal Aids fact files on Race horses below, hopefully it will change your mind:-

• Read our leaflet about the Grand National
• Read our Sanctuary Not Cruelty leaflet and report
• Read our Grand National fact sheet
• Read our background summary of the cruelty of horse racing
• Read The Trouble with Horse Racing

ACTION POINTS

The following initiatives would have an important impact on the welfare of Thoroughbred horses. We need your assistance to ensure they are implemented.

• The publication of comprehensive data on equine mortality, sickness and injury.
• A ban on the whip. It is not merely cruel, but our research shows that it is counterproductive from the point of view of the rider. Please visit our website for more details.
• A proper fund for retired thoroughbreds.
• A ban on the Grand National – a deliberately punishing and hazardous race.

BAN THE GRAND NATIONAL PETITION

Every year more than 400 horses are raced to death in Britain. The racing industry also slaughters thousands of ‘unprofitable’ animals who fail to make the grade. The Grand National at Aintree is particularly cruel and is designed to push horses to their limit and beyond. The majority of horses fail to finish the race, with equine death and injury being a routine feature.

We the undersigned: Believe that, however much welfare standards improve, the Grand National is morally unacceptable. We therefore call for a ban on this race.

SIGN PETITION HERE:-http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/ACTIVE/petition/?id=10&campaign=horse

News Link:-http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/horse/ALL/592//

Horse Race Cruelty! Animal Planet “Jockeys”

ANIMAL PLANET: JOCKEYS WIN OR DIE TRYING IS A CRUEL SHOW BASED ON A CRUEL INDUSTRY!

For more information on horse racing cruelty, visit http://www.chai-online.org, http://www.hsus.org, or http://www.idausa.org/facts/racing.htm.

!!!! Ban the Cruel Horse Drawn Carriage Industry in Chicago:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Ban-…

*Photos used thanks to http://www.peta.org, At Our Hands, Animal Exploitation Gallery, http://www.chai-online.org and http://www.fund4horses.org*

Race Horse Death Watch – Background

Animal Aid’s Race Horse Death Watch was launched during the 2007 Festival.

Its purpose is to expose and record every on-course thoroughbred fatality in Britain.

The horse racing authorities have failed to put clear, unambiguous horse death information into the public domain, preferring to offer complex statistical data rather than specifying, as Death Watch does, the names of killed horses, where the fatality occurred, who was riding the horse and the nature of the injury.

We have good reason to believe that the equine fatalities we are able to list on Death Watch, and which we have verified, fall some 30% short of the true total. Disgruntled industry insiders have, in the past, supplied us with documents to support that view. Since Death Watch was launched, we have periodically produced special reports detailing the scale of on-course deaths, the most lethal race courses, the nature of injuries suffered, and the relative dangers posed by National Hunt, Flat and All Weather racing.

You can read those on the Death Watch Reports page.

Deaths on racecourses are just one part of the sorry story to be told about commercial racing. Animal Aid’s extensive research over many years demonstrates that the industry treats thoroughbreds as mere reproducible commodities. It kills or dumps thousands every year when they fail to make the grade or when their racing days are over.

You can read our reports exposing the welfare problems associated with thoroughbred breeding, racing, and training, and the disposal of commercially unproductive stock on our main website:http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/horse/ALL/.

A Total of 40 horses have died in 2014 alone  on UK & Ireland Race Tracks

 Link:–http://horsedeathwatch.com/background.php

 

New information on kitten attacked with golf club

 

UPDATE: Rocky Alexander, the man who rescued Lucky, says their donation goal of $4500 has been reached. The amount was initially $3000, but the cat requires plates in his elbows rather than pins. Everyone is thrilled and hopeful the surgery will be done tomorrow. The kitten is in Louisville. Alexander says if theres any money left over, it will be donated to an animal shelter locally.

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UPDATE: The man who rescued Lucky the cat tells WKYT they dropped the kitten off at a specialist in Louisville Thursday morning. He says the family was able to put the donated $1500 down for the cat’s needed surgery. He says more money is needed, however, to finish paying the bill. He says Lucky is so badly hurt that screws won’t work and the vet will have to use plates in his legs. He says there’s a chance one leg can’t be saved at all.

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RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – A family is doing all they can to help a kitten, whose front legs were broken by a man with a golf club.

Rescuer Rocky Alexander with Lucky the cat

“He’s purring with two broken legs,” commented Rocky Alexander as he cradled the kitten in the vet’s office. “He’s a fighter. He wants to make it.”

Alexander rescued the kitten late Monday in Richmond. Two teens witnessed a neighbor throwing the 3-month old kitten against a concrete wall. They say they then saw the man take a golf club to its front legs.

“There’s no telling what this little guy went through that night,” Alexander said. “I think he’s been through enough and deserves to be saved.”

Veterinarians at Barnes Mill Animal Hospital say both of the kitten’s legs are broken at the elbow. The break is so bad that doctors say a specialist will have to perform the surgery. The cost for the procedure is anywhere from $1800 to $3000. Now the kitten’s new family is trying to raise money for the surgery.

“The next step is getting him to a specialist,” explained Dr. Jack Taylor of Batnes Mill Animal Hospital in Richmond. “It has to happen pretty soon because these fractures can get too old to be repaired so we’re really looking at a week to ten days.”

Dr. Taylor says in the meantime, he’s given Lucky a heavy dose of pain medication and taken care of routine shots. He says the little guy is eating well and enjoying the attention from loving people.

If you’d like to help the kitten, named Lucky, you can make a donation on PayPal.

PayPal account info: helpsavelucky@gmail.com

Video & News Link:–http://www.wkyt.com/yourtown/locations/richmond/headlines/Man-breaks-kittens-legs-with-golf-club-166275516.html

Update:–Charges filed against man accused of beating kitten with golf club

RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – A man accused of beating a kitten with a golf club has been charged.

Around 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office charged 32-year-old Gary L. Foster, Junior with torture of a cat.

Witnesses say Foster slammed the kitten, now named Lucky, against a wall, then beat his legs with a golf club.

We’re told Lucky had surgery to repair his legs Friday. His prognosis is said to be good, but he may need a blood transfusion and more surgery.

Lucky is now being cared for in Louisville. A group of people, including the man who rescued him, was able to raise $4,500 for Lucky’s care.

According to the sheriff’s office, Foster is scheduled to be in court on September 24 at 9 a.m. at the Madison County Hall of Justice.

 News Link:–http://www.wkyt.com/yourtown/locations/richmond/headlines/Man-breaks-kittens-legs-with-golf-club-166275516.html

 

Hare Coursing Is Cruel – Please Email Clonmel Park Hotel Who Host This Event

 “Posting on behalf of my dear friend & animal warrior,  Carol Crunkhorn. Please support this cause & send the email below; tell them that hare coursing is cruel “

Dear friends,

Please send an email to the Clonmel Park Hotel (or copy and paste the message below) and tell them that hare coursing is cruel and is NOT a sporting event.  Don’t forget to sign with your name and location.

Many thanks,

Carol.

Additional action:

Leave a comment on the   Clonmel Park Conference, Leisure and Spa Hotel Facebook Page

To:           info@clonmelparkhotel.com
Subject:   Hare Coursing is not a sporting event!

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am contacting you to register my disgust at the Clonmel Park Conference, Leisure and Spa Hotel’s for publicising cruel hare coursing on its website – http://www.clonmelparkhotel.com/clonmel.htm

As you may be aware, hares used in coursing are snatched from their habitats, kept in captivity for months and forced to run for their lives in front of greyhounds. They suffer fear, stress and injuries such as broken bones. Every coursing season, hares die painful deaths in this horrendous activity.

Please show compassion for Ireland‘s persecuted hare species and stop publicising cruel coursing on your website.

I eagerly await your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Uproar over pig-dogging ‘blood sport’

“Those who intentionally sets their dogs, on a group of wild pigs, knowing full well the dogs are at risks of serious injury or even death…shouldn’t be owning any dogs! This is not a hobby, it’s a disgraceful blood sport, carried out in the name of entertainment, with ever greedy eyes, on the prize! They appear void of any respect for these animals, nor are they bothered about the pain & suffering they endure.!” 

Animal rights activists are up in arms over a brutal and highly aggressive form of hunting known as pig–dogging. Viewer discretion is advised 

Barbarity or Hobby?

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(Sorry don’t know why there are spaces above, don’t show up on edit page!)

The practice involves training dogs to hunt and kill wild boars and is the only form of conservation hunting in Australia that pits two animals against each other.

Some consider pig-dogging as the ultimate adrenalin rush – a man’s sport on which they spend tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Others, however, say it is nothing but animal torture.

And in a move that has outraged activists and politicians, hunters have been posting videos of the brutal killings on the internet.

Most of the videos obtained by 7.30 were too distressing to broadcast.

Some show feral pigs being grossly mutilated before being re-released into forests and hunters using staple guns to close the wounds of their maimed dogs.

One video shows hunters who have caught and trapped a group of wild pigs in the name of training.

Three pigs lie dead while a young feral pig is slowly mauled to death by a pup with minimal protective armour.

The pig-dogging enthusiasts in the video are just some of many that film their kills and post them online for other like-minded hunters to watch and enjoy.

The videos are taken down soon after they are posted, before the authorities have a chance to investigate.

‘Adrenalin rush’

Pig-doggers from around the country pour into the annual Dog A Hog competition, based about 65 kilometres west of Mackay in Queensland.

Most people at the hunt have been at it for 72 hours straight. For Ryan Berrigan, there is nothing better than the thrill of hunting and killing a pig.

Mr Berrigan spends tens of thousands a year on his hobby.

“It’s the best thing since sliced bread when you come across one. When your dog is swinging off a boar, there’s no better feeling that you get,” he said.

“You can put me on any show ride and any Disneyland parks or whatever you got, but it won’t give me the adrenalin that can. Nothing can.”

Hunters admit their dogs might get hurt but say the animals would not take part if they did not enjoy it.

Hunter Todd Hanson says it is a bigger rush hunting with a dog than using a gun.

“You’ve got to get in there and get amongst them and that. With a gun, you shoot and it’s dead,” he said.

Growing popularity

Pig-dogging is a sport that is drawing more competitors.

Hunter Greg McDaniel points to the size of crowds as an indicator of the sport’s growing popularity, comparing it to fishing.

“Sheilas do it. Sometimes it can gross out sheilas, but there’s plenty of soft blokes out there that get grossed out a bit,” he said.

Pig-dogging even has its own dedicated magazines; for the enthusiast, it is light reading.But it is the material showing up on the internet that concerns responsible hunters like Natalie Watson.

“There are a lot of people out there who don’t treat their dogs real well and that’s the big thing,” she said.

“And that’s where a lot of it comes from – people that abuse their dogs and also abuse the animals they catch, where they tie them up and let their dogs chew them up for hours and stuff like that.

“I have heard of that happening and there are quite a few people out there doing it, but they’re just the ones that spoil it for everyone else.”

News Read The Rest Of This Link:–http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-17/uproar-over-pigdoging-27bloodsport27/4136650

Irish horses sold out to highest bidder…the animals nightmare CHINA!

Horse Racing Kills

IRISH HORSES BETRAYED….as Irish Government plans to export to China…a country steeped in animal abuse. It goes without saying that being a thoroughbred racehorse gets you no better treatment from those who exploit you.

End Horse Racing -the cruelty cannot be eliminated without a ban.

As horse racing pundits in the UK give lip service to the horse killings at the Grand National we do not hear many racing supporters condemning the move by the Irish Government to supply China with Irish horses.

The racing venture and racecourse proposed in China will require 600 to 800 horses for its inaugural year, which is targeted to have approximately 40 race days. This venture is to be stocked with broodmares from Ireland, while stallions will also be sent out.

Also it does not seem to matter to Taoiseach Enda Kenny that Hong Kong is the only venue on Chinese soil where betting on horses is legal and that authorities are unlikely to legalise gambling on the mainland anytime soon. While Ireland has no agreement regarding the export of horses, according to the DOA the changes are being drafted now.

‘If there was any doubt that the new IRELAND-CHINA ‘deal’ will mean untold suffering to Irish animals, we only have to look at past and current horse events in China to foretell the future for our horses’.

Following is a chronicle of known HORSE ABUSE already part of life in China….

Not many know that in 2005 at the Beijing racetrack over 600 healthy thoroughbreds were reported to have been slaughtered in the Chinese capital. This was as a consequence of the official reluctance by the Chinese Communist Party to tolerate gambling. This mass killing was unprecedented even in the harsh world of horseracing.

• • Zoos across China are still putting on cruel exotic animal performances, three months after they were banned by the government. In one show in Guangxi Zhuang this month, crowds cheered as a tiger teetered on the back of a horse, while monkeys, with chains around their necks, rode bicycles around in circles.
• • Horse Fighting is still rife in China where evidence and shocking photos of two stallions covered in blood and ferociously biting each other the annual horsefight in Antai, China, where such animal cruelty is considered ‘sport’.
• At the annual event, which dates back a staggering 500 years, horses are pitted against each other as thousands of locals watch, with many cheering them on and taking photographs.
• The stallions are encouraged to fight by being lead to a mare in heat, and then taking the female horse away when the stallions are aroused.

‘We call on Enda Kenny, Taoiseach to reconsider his stance on Horse exports to China and to condemn both Chinas animal and human abuses without further delay’.

News Link:-http://www.indymedia.ie/article/101697

Suffering At Its Worst…. Not For Sensitive Viewers

It has been a long-weekend, (a very long weekend) for HHCU.

– we presume by the person who stole her

On Saturday, we received a frantic call for help from the owner of a horse in Botshabelo township, which is a good four-hours drive from the Unit.  His horse had been stolen, and when he found her, he knew that something was very wrong with her.

it had grown into the tissue, the wire had just about severed her tongue

We tried the nearest animal welfare organisation, who were unable to help, and we couldn’t get a vet to go out.  What do you do?  You help.  Trevor was on duty over the weekend, and he took Samson with him, who knows the area well – we haven’t been able to do any outreach work in Botshabelo before – we cannot cover all the areas we need to due to financial restraints.

Whilst in the area, Trevor and Samson saw many other problems with horses

an orphan foal with a broken knee

an infected branding wound

We de-wormed as many horses as we could whilst in Botshabelo – all in all over 20 horses were checked, and de-wormed.

Brushing Injury

Fixed

As they were leaving, our inspectors stopped a cart horse to check harnessing: he had brushing wounds, and his feet were badly misshapen.  the problems were fixed, and we will re-check on this horse on our next visit.

 The owner of this horse flagged us down and asked for help – the poor animal was beyond help. Euthanasia was the only option.

Feet horribly overgrown

By this time, it was extremely late, and Trevor and Samson stayed at Samson’s home in a village near to Thaba Nchu, so that they could make an early start home the following morning.

Thank goodness they did…. as they left the house the next morning at around 6.30, a man was waiting for them – he urgently needed help with his horse.

According to the owner, he had been to Bloemfontein, and a villager had asked his wife if he could loan the horse and cart to transport some wood to his home nearby.

Set on fire whilst pulling the trailer, she didn’t go fast enough! FFS!!

Apparently, the mare, who was pregnant, would not go fast enough, and the driver of the cart doused her rear end with either kerosene or petrol, and set her alight with a burning torch whilst she was trying to pull  the cart.  The guilty party has disappeared – but we will find him, and he must pay for what he has done.

So, a miserable weekend – especially Trevor and Samson, who had to deal with euthanasing four horses during this episode.  The only good thing that I can think of to say, is at least those four horses are no longer suffering.  I despair of mankind sometimes, I truly do

Link:-http://www.horsecare.org.za/suffering-at-its-worst-not-for-sensitive-viewers/

The heart-stopping moment a rodeo rider cheated death after his boot got caught in the rope of a raging bull

“I am not posting this because I am bothered about some nut who wants to ride a bull… I am posting this,  so that you, the public, can see why those bulls buck & try to get the rider off!  When those bulls are out of the arena they are docile creatures!….I don’t agree with rodeo at all.  Rodeo is all about  humans trying to take or overpower the strength of an animal; that’s just not right. Take a look at the second picture with the spurs, bull riders use those to antagonise the bull & also to stay on!…Seriously, if you have to wear spurs & put a strap around the genital area of an animal to have fun….you deserve all you get!!!”

A bull rider in Albuquerque, New Mexico was lucky to escape alive after his boot and spur caught hold of a strap still attached to the bucking animal.

Emilio Resende, 24, crashed down on his neck and shoulders during the Ty Murray Invitational Sunday while still attached to Mr Slim, the white and black-spotted bull who continued its thrashing.

With both legs out in the air, the Brazilian rider from Santa Helena de Goiás posed a similar way to Mr Slim who kicked both hind legs out from its 1,500 pound body above him.

A bull rider in Albuquerque, New Mexico was lucky to escape alive after his boot and spur caught hold of a strap still attached to the bucking animal.

Mr Slim is estimated to buck off 74 per cent of his riders in an average time of 3.59 seconds, according to The Professional Bull Riders‘ website.

Wouldn't you try to remove something is those spurs were causing you pain????

‘Blood. Bruises. Broken bones. It’s all in a day’s work for the PBR’s elite Sports Medicine Team. Anytime one the best bull rider’s in the world face their one-ton adversaries at a Built Ford Tough Series event we have the staff to make sure they receive the best possible care if needed.’

Mr Resende was not listed among the injured.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120770/Emilio-Resende-Rodeo-rider-cheats-death-boot-got-caught-rope-raging-bull.html#ixzz1qL8dDOd9

Stop The Cheltenham Festival From Killing Horses – Please sign – ForceChange

“I am dreading the Grand National “

Click (Five horses) link to original post:- Five horses at the Cheltenham Festival were killed this year after only two days of racing. This catastrophe has caused the England festival to be watched very carefully by animal welfare organizations.

Any type of horse racing can be tremendously dangerous to both the horse and rider, but in a situation such as this, it is important to evaluate how much fault is to be placed on carelessness rather than the sport. 

Many people believe that racing itself is cruel and should not exist as a form of entertainment at all, where others feel that this sport just needs to be regulated properly for safety of both human and animal. Regardless of how a particular individual or group feels, five horses dying in two days is not acceptable in any situation.

The injuries sustained by these horses consist of two horses fracturing their legs on the flat and a third horse that also fractured its leg at a jump. The last two horses suffered broken limbs as well, but specifics are not mentioned.

Please sign petition here via Stop The Cheltenham Festival From Killing Horses – ForceChange.

The Grand National – Please Don’t Back the Cruelty

Image via Wikipedia

The Grand National is a deliberately hazardous race.

A dangerously overcrowded field of 40 horses is forced to confront 30 extraordinarily challenging and treacherous jumps, over a course of four-and-a-half miles, the longest in the world. Since 2000, 20 horses have died on the Grand National course and, over the course of the three-day meeting, 34 horses have been killed at the three-day in that same period.

The event has seen numerous horses collapse, some of whom have died. Most recently, in 2009, Irish horse Hear The Echo collapsed and never recovered, shortly before the finishing post. Millions of television viewers were especially distressed to see the 2011 Grand National winner, Ballabriggs, being thrashed at the end of a race that left him so exhausted, that he needed oxygen. His jockey, Jason Maguire, was banned from racing for five days but kept his prize money and his winner’s position. The modern race horse is bred to be fast, but at the expense of bone strength and general health.

Despite its long history, the past decade has been the race’s deadliest decade. The fences have seen physical changes. From 1961, they were sloped on the take-off side. In 2009, run-outs were introduced that enable fences to be bypassed by the runners and loose horses. There have also been changes to the core structure of the fences. However, these innovations have not reduced the fatalities.  The death rate has actually increased over the last 50 years.

Horses have been my life for around 45 years so I have an in depth knowledge of horses & equine injuries. It is positively cruel to expect a horse to run 41/2 miles at full gallop & jump a total of 30 fences as well.

Please, don’t back the cruelty.  Sign the petition below:

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/ACTIVE/petition/?id=10&campaign=horse

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.

Related articles

• 2011 winner Ballabriggs heads 82 entries for the 2012 Grand National (guardian.co.uk)
• Seven horses face race against time to get a run in the Grand National (guardian.co.uk)