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

 

Recession doubles the number of racehorses being destroyed in abattoirs

The number of racehorses destroyed in the UK’s abattoirs has more than doubled over the last year, triggering calls from animal rights groups for the racing industry to do more to help thoroughbreds once their racing careers are over.

The rise comes as charities warn that the recession is having an effect on the welfare of all types of horses and ponies, with many owners struggling to pay for the upkeep of their animals.

Yesterday’s Epsom Derby, attended by an estimated 200,000 racegoers, proved the continuing popularity of horse racing. But critics say not enough money generated by the industry is being allocated for the welfare of thoroughbreds after their racing careers have finished.

A report by the British Horseracing Authority says that in 2011 the number of thoroughbreds reported dead to the horse passport issuing authority rose by 29%, from 1,994 in 2010 to 2,574.

The report, The Effect of the recession on the welfare of British Thoroughbred Horses, notes: “Of these, 1,127 horses either in training, breeding or out of training were reported as killed in abattoirs, from 499 horses in 2010, an increase of 126%.”

Dene Stansall, horse racing consultant at Animal Aid, a charity that campaigns against horse racing, described the report’s figures as disturbing. “They [the horse racing authority] have not got to grips with the problem,” he said. “For years more horses have been bred than have been needed.”

But Professor Tim Morris, director of equine science and welfare at the authority, said the figures should be seen in the context of the 1 million horses on the UK’s equine database. “While a 126% increase may sound a lot, in absolute terms it’s not a big number,” Morris said, pointing out that the industry was heavily regulated so that the welfare of its animals was often to a higher standard than that afforded other types of horses and ponies.

“To solve this problem we’ve got to stop breeding so many, and then we won’t have to put so many down,” said Carrie Humble, an independent equine welfare consultant. “But I would rather see these overproduced horses dead than suffering.”

Morris said the industry had taken steps to reduce the number of horses entering racing to ensure there was not an oversupply of thoroughbreds during the economic downturn.

The authority report notes: “From 2008 to 2011 there has been an overall reduction of 38% in foals registered (falls of 45% in Ireland and 24% in Great Britain).”

But Stansall questioned whether the trend would continue downwards: “Whilst the supply has gone down, as soon as the economy picks up it will rise again.” Stansall said that, as many racehorses were owned by syndicates, it made it difficult to determine who should take responsibility for the horse’s future welfare after it had finished racing.

“If you’ve got a racehorse you have to commit to that animal,” he said, pointing out it often took a couple of years to calm the horse down so that it could be ridden by non-jockeys.

The disposal of horses in UK abattoirs is part of a wider European trend. The number of horses slaughtered at DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) abattoirs in Ireland rose from 3,220 in 2009 to 7,296 in 2010.

News Link:-http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jun/02/recession-number-racehorses-destroyed-abbatoirs

An end to Canada’s horse slaughter industry?

“I don’t know about overseas regulations with horses but in the UK I have to have my horses booster injections done every year, by law.  My youngest colt just had his 3 main vaccines, then one for mites, because stupid numpty put her horse in my field, her horse had mites, so my horse caught them. I had to shave off all his feathers bless him!

“Regards passports, I have ticked all to say not fit for human consumption due to afore mentioned drugs, that’s without wormers & antibiotics for illness’s etc. etc. If an unscrupulous owner wants money for a horse, he’s going to send it to slaughter, regardless of what injections the horse has had…how the hell can they be sure?? Not that it worry’s me, I hope those that do eat horses…have to go to the loo, a lot!!” 

On May 31, 2012, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) released its report “CFIA and the Art of Evasion” in response to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency‘s deflection tactics to questions concerning the welfare of horses in Canada’s horse slaughter plants, as well as the safety of horsemeat for human consumption.

On the same day, the Daily Racing Forum reported that two slaughterhouses, Bouvry Exports in Fort Macleod, Alberta, and Viandes Richelieu in Massueville, Quebec, will no longer be accepting Thoroughbreds:http://www.drf.com/news/canadian-slaughterhouse-firm-no-longer-accepting-thoroughbreds.

Thoroughbreds comprise approximately 14% of the total number of horses slaughtered in Canada for the meat market. The vast majority of horsemeat is shipped overseas to Europe and Asia for human consumption.

It is a known fact that 99% of Thoroughbreds in the racing industry, at some point in their careers, have been administered drugs such as phenylbutazone, which are prohibited from entering the food chain.

Today we ask the CFIA: What now? This news may be the beginning of the decline of the horsemeat industry. Thoroughbreds are not the only horses to receive drugs prohibited from being used for human consumption.

Horses from all directions enter the slaughter market. They come from trail riding businesses, family farms, the rodeo circuit, and other facets of the racing industry, such as Standardbred harness racing and Quarter Horse racing.

The CFIA relies heavily upon an Equine Information Document (EID) system to determine whether horses headed for slaughter have been administered drugs. However, this faulty system is, in turn, reliant upon the honesty of irresponsible owners wishing to offload their horses, as well as unscrupulous feedlot operators whose only interest in horse slaughter is the profit that can be made from this practice.

The safety of Canadian horsemeat cannot be guaranteed. Neither is equine slaughter a humane process. It is fraught with animal welfare violations, as proven by numerous undercover investigations:http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/investigations.html

Today, we further ask the Thoroughbred racing industry: What now? The slaughter option has been removed from two large Canadian slaughter plants.

Will the industry now begin to truly work to protect its race horses through industry subsidized adoption programs and promote responsible horse husbandry that will include retainment and rehoming of Thoroughbreds, instead of silently allowing the untimely deaths of the very horses who make their industry possible?

The Canadian government can run, but it cannot hide from the truth. There is no such thing as the humane slaughter of an easily-panicked flight animal such as the horse.

Further, there is no way to guarantee that the meat of horses can be free from drug contaminants. They are our companions and our working partners, and many have been medicated with substances that can be risky to human health if consumed.

Canada must abolish horse slaughter without delay.

News Link:-http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=98029

Horse racing

Eight Belles falling in Derby 134.
Hard to watch video of the horse falling and throwing jockey.Keep in mind this filly finished 2nd place out of 20 before breaking both front ankles.Tragic-
Thoroughbred racetracks in the U.S. reported more than three horse deaths a day last year and 5,000 since 2003, and the vast majority were put down after suffering devastating injuries on the track, according to an Associated Press survey.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-at-americas-racetracks.html?_r=1

Nurse Mare’s – What They Don’t Want You To Know

NURSE MARE‘S – What they don’t want you to know

Click below to see You Tube video of nurse mare foals….just heartbreaking!!!!

If this doesnt make U cry or get angry then nothing will… babies born to die !!! – YouTube.

The nurse mare has been around for hundreds of years. They were used if a foal was rejected, or if the mother died in birth. They started out to be a good thing. Since then it has turned into something far worse.

Nurse mare foals are babies that were born to its natural mother so that her milk will come in.  The milk that she is producing , however is used to nourish the foal of another mare, another more expensive foal.