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What exactly is the issue following this program?
The revelation that horses are slaughtered and the way it is conducted in some slaughterhouses? Is it that horses are transported across the distances revealed in the program for slaughter, or a combination of them all?
I have no connection with the slaughtering or animal transport business, but I am not at all surprised at what was shown and firmly believe that this is only a part of a much larger problem.
With all the horses that enter racing and all the horses that exit each season, I find it hard to believe that the majority of them go on to other fields such as eventing, dressage x-country or simply pleasure riding.
The focus is very much on the responsibility of the owners and trainers, but what of the breeding industry? Shouldn’t some of this be shared with them, after all, they are busy producing foal after foal, along with maximizing stallion matings. Too much crap is put into the market without any restraint or regulation. The topic of the program was on racehorses, but what of those produced for the industry that don’t make the racecourse, foals that are not correct or later don’t show the ability………all re homed? I’d suggest their life is ended there and then.
For anybody in racing to appear shocked by what was in the program surprises me. The abattoir should of course have the book thrown at it, but the regulatory authorities should also be held accountable. What’s the point in having a ministry vet there if the required standards and procedures are not adhered to. What’s also concerning is whether the substandard meat from these animals is ending up being consumed by humans. My gut feeling is that it is.
There has been the usual fluff poured out by the racing establishment, but they should be careful and take heed as to this and how the industry is viewed. There has been work done to make the visuals of the sport more acceptable and there is a better retraining system in place than in most countries, but much, much more needs to be done, both in organization, education, regulation and investment. And quicker, talk achieves very little if not implemented. Following the recent incidents with Elliot and McMahon, to me it seems evident that the IHRB have no issue with racehorse welfare and react in purely a lip service way. I know Animal Aid have their own agenda and it’s not in support of better racehorse conditions, but if they are not going to put pressure on the authorities and expose what is actually going on, then who will?
Morally I sit on the fence a little. I like horses and ideally, would want them all to live out the rest of their lives happily until the day of reckoning comes. In reality this is never going to be the case and I wouldn’t want them to spend the rest of their days discarded and rotting in a field where a less suffering and more dignified end would be the better option. Not all thoroughbreds are suitable for re homing and training, but I would expect the majority to be. Could this be an enforceable and sustainable option, I suspect not.
Put in perspective, if this happens in the UK/Ireland, I can’t imagine what befalls horses in other jurisdictions around the world. I would think the slaughterhouse was the norm, slaughterhouses that would make Drury’s look like a high quality loving and kind establishment.
The issues with this programme are not just with what it revealed but with what it brought into view about this industry – much of which has been suppressed (and storied alternatively) by multiple stakeholders over decades, for obvious reasons. It’s not just a racing problem; it’s a breeding problem and at the heart of that is an over-supply problem. One only has to look at the clearance rate at the sales (flat and stores) to see that, and even that is a highly massaged figure – see the thread from ages back about sales practices.
My issue is that it has taken this programme to put this laissez faire world into the spotlight. An even bigger issue I have is that, after all this, this is still a world that many in the industry would clearly like to wish away – witness the conspicuous silence of many, whilst others show that they have a moral compass.
The 4k list will, potentially, hold a lot of information. I strongly suspect that it will indicate the various levels of ‘wastage’ that occur across the industry. But just how much information does an abattoir hold about those it destroys, and for how long? I don’t know the answer to that – but, as grass says, there’s a microchip in each horse which will have to be removed prior to its entering the meat chain and which is the unique identifier for each horse. What I would want to know minimum is the age and sex distribution of that 4k – then we’d have a pretty clear idea of the proportions from each part of the industry (studs, sales yards, point yards, pre-training yards, and racing yards, flat v NH). Racing yards are just the visible part of this whole iceberg.
At least one new regulatory development – the e-passport for each foal that reaches 30 days – will make it easier for regulators to connect horses to ownership, at all levels of the tb business.
Marlingford, we have a local knacker man who will collect a horse put down at home. I believe the carcasses are burnt, but I’m not sure. He collects cattle etc. from farmers too. You can take a horse to the local hunt kennels, if it can travel. The huntsman is licensed to put horses down. I knew someone who wanted to bury a horse once. I honestly can’t remember the outcome, but there were rules about water supplies… it all sounded a bit dodgy. I think horse meat is used by zoos too, but I don’t know from which source (abattoir possibly).
Not sure what the options are Marlingford.
I know that they can be buried under certain circumstances as I believe that the greats , Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon are buried next to each other at the Easterby’s at Malton.
A good news story . in this really horrible time.Thanks for the replies Louise and Coggy. I felt a bit silly asking the question, but horses are not exactly small, and I presumed there were quite strict rules. Curiosity got the better of me…
That’s lovely to hear about Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon.
Griff11, re what exactly the issue is, for me the issues fall into two groups:
The first line of issues, which I’d have thought should be more easily solvable, relate to the “how” of horses being slaughtered. For example, I believe if a horse is being slaughtered it is not too much to expect that it is treated with care and respect when it happens, and that it is not transported long distances or left without adequate veterinary care etc.
The second line of issues relate to what happens to racehorses after their racing careers, of which considerations around slaughter obviously form a part. These strike me as much trickier to resolve as they touch upon many factors – huge numbers of horses, hefty financial considerations, who should be responsible, what realistic alternatives there are etc. I recognise that there are times when euthanasia will be unavoidable, but this really needs to be an absolute last resort and there is far too much turning of blind eyes, and occasionally worse, at present.
I already had awareness of the issues around retired racehorses, and could have probably guessed that it wouldn’t be too hard to find areas of concern at an abbatoir. But the programme did a good job of giving anyone who watched it an explicit reminder of these issues, and to be honest I think this was much needed.
Suddenly you all care about Horses well-fare, Any volunteers to be whacked 6 times in Final Furlong, thought not. What else do you think is in those tins on supermarket shelves. take a look at Timeform or Horses in Training books to know how many Horses race under rules etc.
Trainers build more boxes to accommodate more Horses revolving doors, no one cares.
I’m sure ITV Racing will look glum on Saturday Morning, Channel 4 racing many years ago witness a top trainer punching a horse proving difficult to load into stalls don’t care, tomorrow’s chip paper.Personally, I think some reactions to the Panorama are ‘I’m only sorry I got caught’. As everyone knows, the issues raised in the documentary have been going on for ages.
However, it is great to know others feel so strongly on this subject as I do, and so many eloquent replies too
I suppose I just hope that the racing industry actually make a change and take things onboard. But I feel I have been waiting for that ever since I got into horseracing
Ultimately, its clear most of those in racing (i.e the owners/trainers/boards) will just ignore it, and lie their way out of things.
A lot of the time the industry feels like its just people trying to convince each other and themselves that everything is okay when it isn’t. (e.g oh look at these FEW retired racehorses in nice living conditions, look! behold! see we’re all lovely people – pat on the back for us!)
[side note – am sort of also guilty of this for loving the ‘Homeschooling’ segment on ITV racing. it makes any guilt about seeing a horse break down feel justified
]I suppose at least here we are all self-aware that things need to change in the sport. We can enjoy horse racing as long as we can critique it. Love should NOT be blind in racing!!
– Jade
Time flies like a banana, flies are like arrows...fruit?.. wait, no....
When chatting to those indifferent to the sport I’ve always defended those ‘visual’ issues what they may perceive as cruel – not only the the daft assumption that striking a heavyweight beast with small cushioned stick is animal abuse, but also the Grand National how it was before it became the Grand National In Name Only Chase, and even the second last on the Old Course at Cheltenham before they moved it.
However,as I’ve no obligation to the sport to paint a rosey image of it, I’ve always been frank about the wastage issue which will get worse before it gets better due to the financial fallout from covid – all those investing in a racehorse or two on the back of a thriving business venture that has now hit the buffers will find it’s a luxury they cannot afford anymore.
As has been noted here,the Animal Aid member came across as a level headed individual, far from what I was expecting. I recall a smallish group of protesters ( not sure what organisation they belonged to) outside Aintree before racing on GN day (the year when Synchronised died) with the chair leader being a hippy type lady in her late forties, with a righteous, well spoken tone, coming out with stuff like,” how many horse will you see being murdered today!” – for some reason that was the type of character I expected they’d have on Panorama and I’m sure it was what those inside the sport hoped for.
I do appreciate that those brought up with regular involvement in cattle rearing and trading will wonder what all the fuss is about – but you can’t on one hand sell the image of racing on the appeal of the thoroughbred and the affection they generate, then expect the same audience to then accept the realities that many owners will see their animal as something that can be cashed in on as though it was just another category of farm cattle.
I can’t wait to see how the ITV team try to defend this on Saturday. The secret’s out and no amount of sanctimonious claptrap will ease the damage inflicted by the documentary.
Why is a rifle ever used rather then a lethal injection? Is it a cost issue? Seems an unreliable, dangerous and cruel way of going about things, even ignoring if the actual ‘putting down’ is acceptable or not.
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TTC, I didn’t think that a rifle was ever used. I thought it was virtually impossible to kill a horse swiftly and without suffering with a rifle. That was a total shock. As for humane killer or injection – not sure what the exact criteria are for the choice between the two, but I think owner preference and end use are probably the main ones (if you are feeding the meat to another animal afterwards, you don’t want to knock that one out too). You’d need a vet to comment, but I have some recollection that our vet said injecting might be considered tricky for a large animal i.e. getting the dosage right, so as not to cause further suffering.
I thought they used some sort of an ‘Anton Chigurh’ bolt machine. I don’t know why I assumed this in fairness. I certainly didn’t think some hungover fat bloke with a bloody rifle did the deed in a messy fashion.
Point taken about the meat-contamination angle. Given the ‘double-chipping’ episode, its obviously big business.
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I know ITV Racing is not popular on here, but they don’t shy away from mentioning fatalities when they occur, and show more concern about horse welfare than any predecessor mainstream racing programme.
I‘m sure they will want to also mention what good work is being done, and why wouldn’t they? We should be championing good practice where it is happening just as long as the bad practice is not being swept under the carpet or downplayed.
@Cancello@Marlingford – I agree. It will be interesting to see what ITV has to say tomorrow. Fwiw, I think they have a unique opportunity. Their pitch has been to widen racing’s public and part of that has been the much welcomed one of taking welfare issues seriously – equine and human. This issue goes to the heart of both, and it brings those concerns together. Imagine being the stable staff who had cared for those named horses. Distraught does not begin to get anywhere near it. It is bad enough when they are wrenched from your care, through fatalities or when they change yards, are sold etc. It’s bad enough when you don’t know what’s happened to them. But when you’re presented with this – well, it must be your worst fears and more. I know I would be in bits if I’d cared for VdR.
My other thought is re possible regulatory interventions. As a breeder (in my case, of cats – now no more, since they are all neutered!), I routinely used to put on the bottom of each pedigree of any kitten I sold, ‘Should this cat ever have to be re-homed, please contact me first – phone number’. I was only ever a small breeder, but I had occasion to be involved once in such a re-homing, on account of a partnership breaking down. The kitten came back, and was then re-homed. I didn’t think twice about it: it was the breed club policy and it is what all responsible breeders did. I wonder why the same policy could not be instigated in relation to stud farms by the racing regulators? After all, there isn’t even the problem of space and worries over what the resident pets might think here – they have oodles of paddock space. Or, on second thoughts – perhaps that is just the problem. Some of these studs are churning out such huge numbers each year that even their vast acres don’t have the capacity to hold them.
“Without wanting to get political charity is not a satisfactory way of funding anything.
Anything voluntary is avoided by the callous and insufficient funding is raised as a result.
A device EVERYONE who is a consumer of the racing product on some level is compelled to pay towards would be far more effective.
It could be funded by: 1. the Levy via a tiny increase in overall bookmaker margins/exchange commission rates, 2. there could be an owners aftercare surcharge, taking the issue out of their hands, 3. a small increase in racecourse admission prices.
Racing/BHA could then introduce its compulsory adoption of all retired racehorses whose owners wanted rid and could then take responsibility for what happens to them all.”
Oh Ian, that’s far too sensible and practical a suggestion to ever be considered.
“Why is a rifle ever used rather then a lethal injection? Is it a cost issue? Seems an unreliable, dangerous and cruel way of going about things, even ignoring if the actual ‘putting down’ is acceptable or not.”
To be honest TTC, I thought a bolt was always used, unless the animal was considered a danger, basically a nut job and those would be few or occasional. A rifle used properly would not be any more cruel than a bolt, just not a safe procedure.
I don’t think lethal injection would even be considered in a slaughterhouse.
There’s a lot more depth to this ‘Panorama” story if anyone cares to delve into it.
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