Inhumane killing of racehorses - BBC Panorama

[bluewanda]

I just read about this and am so upset I don't understand how humans can be so damn cruel, it makes me sick to my stomach.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57881979

Good on Animal Aid and the BBC for exposing this.

And what do you think happens to the thousands of sheep/pig/cows/chickens that go to slaughter?
Yes this is awful but I find the outrage when it’s a different animal quite wearing

@lastqueenofscotland

And what do you think happens to the thousands of sheep/pig/cows/chickens that go to slaughter? Yes this is awful but I find the outrage when it’s a different animal quite wearing

Well yes, but even as someone as soon doesn’t eat animal products, I’d say there’s a difference between slaughtering animals raised for food and slaughtering animals raised purely for entertainment and money making and treating them as disposable once they’re no longer of use. The report certainly seems to be clear that the slaughter of horses is done in an inhuman way and against rules laid down to prevent their suffering. If you’re suggesting other animals are probably also slaughtered inhumanely (behind close doors) then I imagine you’re correct.

Yes I am suggesting that welfare standards in slaughter houses probably fall a million miles below what they claim/the legislation states.
The bigger shock to me wasn’t that they were racehorses, but that the welfare standards was so low.

I think like a PP said, there’s a difference between slaughter of animals bred for meat and slaughter of animals bred for entertainment - I don’t know why, the end result is the same.

It’s horrific, like the article said these horses should be euthanised at their training facility not transported distances whilst injured.

Although, considering how some of the others who don’t have career ending injuries end up maybe these don’t have the worst of it.

At least the last two years have pushed horse pricing up enough that people can no longer pick up a retired racehorse for £500, which they can’t ride, won’t take care of and the poor sod ends up starving in a field…

The only alternative is to put limits on the amount of thoroughbreds who are born each year to keep the numbers in racing low enough (I mean, we could ban racing but old men must have their sport )

I think racing will in time, go the way of dog racing.
Racing folk (I know a lot of them) are completely blind to how the sport looks to the outside. A lot literally can’t see how flicking the telly on and seeing horses being hit (regardless of what the whips are made of) after running bravely for 3 miles jumping chase fences looks bad.

And claiming they are treated like kings grinds my gears. Flat horses are backed as yearlings, a lot of jumps horses are hurdling at 2, many many many yards don’t turn out, which is insanely cruel. They have big boxes and big beds so to outsiders looks lovely, but they are often bored and stressed out of their minds, as seen by how many are riddled with ulcers or have awful stable vices. I’ll never forget watching a little two year old filly trying to canter in circles in her box
Saying the horses are treated better than the staff is more an enditement of how poorly the staff are treated than how well the horses are.
Racing talks the talk but serious changes are needed and it needs to start with breeding less. Go to one of the lesser yearling sales and horses are there that are from generations of families that have never had a winner and only a handful of runners, it is utterly ridiculous.
Then go to the general/HIT sales and see barren mares in their 20s who’ve given their owners 15 foals and they can’t do them the decency to give them a year in a field before they naturally pass away, they have to get that last few hundred quid.

My first job was looking after horses and if it was banned tomorrow I’d be delighted

*My first job was looking after racehorses that say

And what do you think happens to the thousands of sheep/pig/cows/chickens that go to slaughter?
Yes this is awful but I find the outrage when it’s a different animal quite wearing

I knew someone would come along with this utterly predictable and wearing response. Yes, I feel dreadful for the way those poor animals are treated too (I've read some awful stories). I also feel so sad about animals that are poorly treated in zoos. On this particular day though I happened to come across the BBC report on racehorses and decided to post about it.

What really makes me sad is the way these animals are so trusting - only to be repaid by being treated so cruelly at the hands of their captors. It's heart-breaking

My first job was looking after horses and if it was banned tomorrow I’d be delighted

@lastqueenofscotland well, I 100% agree with you there.

The only difference between farmed animals and these animals is that these animals probably had a better life.

I dont understand why people getting worked up over one and not the other. Free range eggs are no better than caged eggs- their lives are cut short in just the same way. In no way do they have a nice long natural life. Why is exploiting an animal for food more justified than for sport

@RealBecca RTFT - it's only 10 posts!

Not particularly disturbed by it to be honest, the animals are at the end of their lives so any distress caused is only very temporary. I was more concerned by the fact that Ireland sends so many horses to England to be euthanised, it's a bit like the British sending their rubbish to the far east because they don't want to deal with the problem.

The important thing to remember is that racehorses have fantastic lives and are looked after much better than livestock destined for human consumption is.

Not particularly disturbed by it to be honest, the animals are at the end of their lives so any distress caused is only very temporary.

I’m amazed anyone would defend the totally unnecessary suffering of animals like this because it’s only temporary.

Horrible.

Loads of those horses weren't racehorses BTW.

Not particularly disturbed by it to be honest, the animals are at the end of their lives so any distress caused is only very temporary

What a cold thing to say. Did you miss this bit?

Prof Daniel Mills, a veterinary behavioural specialist from the University of Lincoln, who has seen the footage, said: "A gunshot going off is going to be startling, seeing another horse suddenly drop, these are all going to be very distressing for a horse in this situation."

And this?

Veterinary expert Dr Hannah Donovan, who reviewed the footage, said: "[Travelling] 350 miles potentially carrying an injury is not a humane process. This is unnecessary suffering."

Dr Donovan said: "The bottom line is horses, if they are to be euthanised, could and should be euthanised at home. Simple as that."

Loads of those horses weren't racehorses BTW.

Either way, it's still horribly cruel

It doesn’t surprise me at all unfortunately. I am not into horses but I am not surprised that once they are no longer of use they are treated badly and disposed of.

@lastqueenofscotland

And what do you think happens to the thousands of sheep/pig/cows/chickens that go to slaughter? Yes this is awful but I find the outrage when it’s a different animal quite wearing

Thousands 🤣🤣

Try millions and millions - and that's just per day.

The estimate is around 6.4 billion animals are killed for the UK food chain each year.

I agree the footage of horses being in humanely killed was very upsetting

Lots of the horses shown were not thoroughbreds so not racehorses

There is also a huge ROR (retraining of racehorses) movement in this country which now ensures happy homes for many ex racers (I have one myself). Shame no documentary on that.

@bluewanda I DID. AND I AGREE WITH LASTQUEENOFSCOTLAND. Why are farmed animals less imporatant than sport horses?

Animal Aid don't want horses to be performative at all, and they also don't want them eaten, so I'm not sure how we'd have horses in this country if they didn't have a job to do. They are not exactly cheap to keep.

@RealBecca you clearly didn't as I addressed this very point in response to lastqueenofscotland in a post upthread.

@Bryonyshcmyony that's so lovely that you were able to give a horse a happy home, thank you.

I have an ex racehorse, shes a dream.
But the fact that ROR do a good job and many other small charities too, can exist with the rhetoric that the industry needs to do better!

@Bryonyshcmyony I also have rescue pets but no space for a horse sadly!

@lastqueenofscotland

I have an ex racehorse, shes a dream. But the fact that ROR do a good job and many other small charities too, can exist with the rhetoric that the industry needs to do better!

I agree, but that rests with the abbatoir, not necessarily the industry.

I have an ex racehorse, shes a dream.

Well, as traumatic as the above story is, it's lovely to hear of two Mumsnetters now who've rescued racehorses and given them a happy life. If only the ones in the above story could have been so fortunate (or if they were at the end of their lives due to very bad injuries, euthanised at home in a humane way as recommended by the vet in the article).