Comments on: This is not cruel…

By: SHARON HUTCHINGS

SHARON HUTCHINGS — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:09:38 +0000

Apologies for the bad grammar in my last post …. my kids are hassling me for their turn on the computer!

By: SHARON HUTCHINGS

SHARON HUTCHINGS — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:04:21 +0000

Problem is Jonathan that to attract attention to the cruelty in horse racing, or any form of animal entertainment, the media are only interested in shock value. Footage of falls and deaths in jumps racing is shocking, and it should be banned. The other despicable cruelty in horse racing such as inappropriate feed producing stomach ulcers, confinement in tiny stalls for up to 22 hours a day, whipping, muscular skeletal injuries due to over-training particularly of young underdeveloped horses, then of course the early death at the knackery for many that are unsuccessful. The “selective” highlighting of jumps is because it is the most obvious, shocking and public cruelties. As you know, the other cruelty issues are generally hidden from public view. Hopefully once jumps are finally banned in Vic and SA, the other equally unsavoury aspects of the greed & gambling driven horse racing industry (and other animal “sports”), will also be exposed - if the media is interested?

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:55:22 +0000

Just quit the use of animals for entertainment.

By: a a

a a — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:12:41 +0000

No jumps, no jumps horses

Wouldn’t even be alive today without the ‘sport’

Probably enjoyed those few years of life

Even with the 1/100 chance things might go wrong

Sad, but true

By: Jonathan Green

Jonathan Green — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:56:08 +0000

It’s a bit like the illegal immigrant argument. Most come by plane, but we get all hot and bothered about the visible few who arrive by boat. More horses die in race training or on the flat. Many more die for dog meat when they flop out at trials or after a few dud races and aren’t cut out for pony clubbing, horse sport or, gasp, racing over jumps. This is selective outrage. There’s a strong argument that says that the sort of nambypambyism inflicted on jumps racing — smaller fences, more brush etc — has made it faster, given the horse less to think about over the obstacle and thus left the whole thing more dangerous than before the hand wringers had their say. The entire business of horse training and racing is pretty hard arsed and tough on man and beast. But just because we see a few sad pictures in the paper we all get our indignant outrages in a knot. How moderne. How selective. How ever so slightly self indulgent. How ineffectual when it comes to confronting the true incidences of cruelty in racing: young horses over-trained and broken down, drugged, thrashed etc etc. You could almost imagine that it was a distraction that suited the promoters of the industry. Hive off the jumps and leave the flat folk to go about their business.

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:27:06 +0000

Until we see ARL or VFL players expiring on the playing field with broken necks and crumbled sesamoids few sporting thickheads are going to concede the wrything pain of injured animals and humans is shared. I think this country is fed up right now with double standards and its opportune for a moratorium on the obscenely cruel hurdle, buck-jumping and rodeo riding events. We’ve pilloried for decades the ghastly UK hunting habits - time to clean up our own backyard.

By: SHARON HUTCHINGS

SHARON HUTCHINGS — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:20:47 +0000

7 horses have been killed in jumps races over the past month(5 in Vic, 2 in SA). It is a cruel “sport”. One trainer has apparently threatened to shoot all his horses if jumps are banned, and deliver a horses head to the Vic Minister’s office. And for the head of Racing Victoria to blame the horse, nothing to do with the hurdles or jockey, is just outrageous. Sad truth behind the greed-driven racing industry is that over-breeding is rife and many horses are sent to an early death at the knackery once their profitability wanes. As for industry concerns about the impact on crowds at events like Oakbank if jumps are banned, the vast majority that attend this annual hills picnic race aren’t at all interested in the racing (I’ve been a few times), it is merely an opportunity to dress-up, drink-up, pick-up and throw-up!

By: Kerrie Gandara

Kerrie Gandara — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:18:14 +0000

I feel ill thinking about it, let alone looking at it! How can people do this?

By: Greg Angelo

Greg Angelo — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:24:50 +0000

This disgusting sport is a blight on a civilised community and the cretins who support it ought to have their legs broken and be shot. From a risk management perspective, there is a significant risk in each race of a horse being seriously injured or killed. We banned cockfighting and bear baiting sometime ago as these were regarded as uncivilised sports. Why do we continue with this appalling pattern of death and injury in the name of so-called “sport”.

The racing community all around the world is prepared to subject these beautiful horses to significant risk to satisfy some fundamental urge which I suspect is some vicarious pleasure from seeing death or injury not unlike the Romans watching gladiators butcher each other for pleasure.

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:19:22 +0000

FD: Thank you, thank you, thank you. If this doesn’t get through peoples’ heads nothing will. It’s called sport.

Wonderful, harrowing, all those things. Five out of five First Dog.

By: Evan Beaver

Evan Beaver — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:53:56 +0000

Christ, I hadn’t been following this story. I didn’t realise the poor bugger died during the race! I’d figured it was just another one of those ‘humane destructions’. You know, when all 4 legs break after a race and they shoot them at the track.

No good at all.

By: Dermot McGuire

Dermot McGuire — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:30:26 +0000

thank you. sickening isn’t it

By: Joal Taylor

Joal Taylor — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:00:48 +0000

Ow :*(