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The reasons for sending horses to Swindon was never explored Pilgarlic, though he answer is potentially one of the most illuminating aspects. It was made pretty clear at the start that the reporter is Irish and much of the focus was always going to be on Elliott so no real surprise that the British side wasn’t covered – it was only half an hour after all. I also suspect that many details were left out (such as the name of the horse carrying Tammy Hill’s microchip) so as not to prejudice any criminal investigations.
As to all this “left bias” nonsense, two of the most enthusiastic critics of horse-racing are the Express & Mail, indeed the Mail even has a video of poor Wigmore Hall being shot still online for all to view. The idea that the anti-racing lobby is just a gang of vegan Marxists with dreadlocks who can cheerfully be ignored is a deluded (and dangerous) fantasy that has prevented rational engagement for some time.
The BBC used to be sort of pinkish liberal but those days are long gone and it now dances to whatever tune the current government tells it to. That said, this programme was NOT a BBC production so such arguments are pointless anyway.
Sadly it seems some in the sport consider the horse as merely a tool of the trade
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Turns out I was wrong regarding trainers responsibility to the horses after they are retired, I presumed it was more of an ownership thing but reading Kim Bailey’s interview on Sporting Life – very much needed and he comes across well I thought – it turns out there is more to it. It was nice to hear the story about Harry Topper and that they always knew where he was and kept in touch etc and had to rehome him several times… That is the frustrating thing about Panorama it is always very dramatic but entirely one sided and I’m a little surprised an impartial organisation like the BBC continue to give sensationalist one sided programmes like it air time.
“As to all this “left bias” nonsense, two of the most enthusiastic critics of horse-racing are the Express & Mail.”
Never said they were not. Racing faces attack by an unholy alliance of animal rights campaigners (mostly on the Left) and people who do not like gambling (mostly on the moralistic Right although their view is shared by plenty of left wing new puritans).
I did not see the programme but is anyone really surprised that some former racehorses end up in abbatoirs?
If you read social media you will quickly notice that Conservatives think the BBC is left wing, Labour voters think the BBC is right wing and the rather boring truth is probably that the BBC is neither.
They annoy everyone equally!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Racing has a rather stark choice here. It can sit around again , and ignore the elephant in the room , or for once it can actually listen to the rest of society , and not just it’s own little insular world. What the programme illustrated was simply unacceptable , and not a sport being demonised by left wing lunatics at the BBC. The sport has to begin to reflect the standards of the majority of society regarding animal welfare issues , and to stop pretending that it somehow knows better. To ignore the general feelings of revulsion , is a dereliction of duty , as the opinions of “others” will inevitably be imposed upon the sport , like it or not. Otherwise the door will be hitting us on the “bottom” on the way out.
As the TinMan mentioned, there’s classy interview with Kim Bailey, apparently for the Sporting Life but also on Irishracing.com (presumably in the absence of anyone from within Irish racing being willing to voice an opinion). For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet http://www.irishracing.com/news?headline=Bailey-asserts-trainers-and-owners-should-take-lead-in-care-of-retired-horses&prid=219762
Well Said by both Kim Bailey and David Menuisier. To just pick up Cork All Star on your last paragraph, I think we are all aware that unfortunately some horses do end up at an Abattoir but it was the manner in which many arrived there and the unnecessary use of the abattoir in these cases, and only over a four day period.
Not had chance to dust over replies so sorry if re-hashing anything someone has said.
Firstly, the Irish racing gravy train may be just about to hit a wall.
Secondly, if someone can answer for me, is there no or little re-homing and re-purposing organisations in Ireland?
I have always held the belief that if you can afford to own and train a horse, you should have to put money in each month also to contribute towards a horses aftercare, however that would be worked out.
There is some re-homing here, tbracing, through The Irish Horse Welfare Trust. However, a while back I tried to find ex-racehorse classes and hit a brick wall. It certainly isn’t as wide a programme as it is in the UK. Leisure riding is not such a big thing here. There are fewer happy hackers, and limited places to do it. Of course, horses tend to be more for money than pets, which undoubtedly feeds some of the issues of the ‘gravy train’ (although it’s well fed by rich British owners/feted by the British media). Most people that I know who re-home ex-racehorses do it through friends in the UK, and not of the variety that featured in Panorama.
Bailey’s Blog was my first port of call this morning – and I was not surprised by the reaction there. His is a relatively small yard, where responsibilities for after care are taken as seriously as they should be by all who are involved in this sport – as his blog and website make abundantly clear. Even so, the interview gives an indication of the scale of the rehoming that needs to occur – 20 this summer alone from a yard with ~50-60 in training. That starts to point to the huge problem that confronts re-homing from the bigger yards, and at scale at the level of racing jurisdictions. Today’s press releases have carried figures into the 3k for horses now registered as ex racehorses by welfare organisations in GB. That’s a huge improvement on where things were, yes. But most of these are going to be ‘forever homes’ and many retired horses will live well into their 20s. So, if 7k are estimated to leave racing each year, that’s an ever expanding number of homes that are going to be needed … it’s an issue that goes to the heart of over-production.
For those wondering about how ex race horses from Ireland end up in the likes of Drury’s, my sense is that one aspect of this is that the horse is regarded as primarily an agricultural commodity in Ireland, whereas in GB its seen as a commodity within the leisure/entertainment business – which is not the same thing as a pet . For me this explains the onus of responsibility that several trainers based in England have articulated today; the one that comes with owning an animal whose purpose is to give its owners (and connections) pleasurable days out at the races. It also explains why horses end up at an abattoir – which is the first port of call in meat production.
In circumstances where a horse is seen as an agricultural commodity and when it is no longer seen as of racing value then the horse reverts to its agricultural value. In simple economic terms, if you euthanise an animal you pay the veterinary fees and disposal costs. When the horse goes to an abattoir what’s being realised is its residual value, as meat. So, the abattoir pays you (or – more likely – the consignor of the load on the horse box, who will have paid you). The more you off-load, the more you get. Now, what the abattoir pays will depend on which meat production plants it supplies. Obviously, there are markets in continental Europe for horsemeat, and there are meat plants that prepare horsemeat to sell into wholesale and retail markets. But some meat production plants are not quite as above board as others. They are sites where meat get mixed. Think mince. As the Horse-gate scandal of a few years ago showed, the endless pressure by supermarkets and consumers for cheaper and cheaper processed food carries with it strong incentives to mix cheaper sources of meat (horse) with more expensive sources (beef) and to pass off one as the other in highly processed products. Racing may live in a bubble – but this is the world to which its primary commodity, the horse, is all too easily connected. It’s why after care matters so much and why there is not the gap between that abattoir and the industry that some maintain.
Tammys Hill’s microchip found in the Swindon abattoir prompts another investigation. This would be another Festival winner (Foxhunters in 2014) being sent there after being pulled up injured in the 2016 Irish National……
Re the comments about BBC bias, I believe the BBC has shown bias against racing in the past and was concerned about this in advance of last night’s programme. But having watched it, I just can’t see how anyone could accuse the programme of bias. It highlighted some very serious problems in a mature and measured way. And when there is only half an hour, why spend lots of time looking at where things are being done well? It doesn’t get rid of the horrendous issues that need tackling.
If the BBC had really wanted to go for the jugular there were plenty of avenues that could have been explored further. The scenes from the abbatoir were quite restrained (thank goodness), and clearly much worse could have been shown. Worrying statistics such as death rates in training could have been explored far more. Particularly horrific cases of neglect such as Stephen Mahon could have been covered in much more grisly detail.
Racing should be thanking its lucky stars that it was not put under further scrutiny, and getting its house in order before the next Panorama.
The documentary said Tammys Hill died at the Irish National in 2016. It was just his microchip implanted in another horse that came to the English slaughterhouse. The programme also said that in 20 days, there were apparently 40 attempts to get horsemeat into the human chain with dubious documents. The context wasn’t clear e.g. was this just at Drury’s? Regardless, all of this raises many questions. I hope they are followed up on and we find out more.
I hope the circumstances of Vyta Du Roc ending up at the slaughterhouse are looked into further by the media too.
I have just watched that horrific programme again.
There is absolutely no doubt that this industry / sport needs to take a good long , hard look at itself , and reform immediately.
I notice that some normally very vocal commentators have gone very silent !
There is absolutely no defending what has been going on.
Despite others berating the BBC ,the sport should hold its head in shame. I say well done to the programme makers.“Racing has a rather stark choice here. It can sit around again , and ignore the elephant in the room , or for once it can actually listen to the rest of society , and not just it’s own little insular world.”
Coggy, I fear we know the answer to this question. Even though fox hunting is illegal, jumps racing is still openly, and disgracefully, known as National Hunt racing. There are many folk whom advocate illegal fox hunting on this very forum.
I’ve always been a flat man, whom also enjoyed the jumps, but I’m starting to feel sacking the jumps off altogether would not be a bad thing. Things that don’t want to evolve with the times wither and die.
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