I am starting a new thread on this topic, as the one I commenced last year concerned a petition to Parliament and was titled as such.
That petition, which called out the current horseracing governing body as not fit - and sought the establishment of an independent alternative - was signed by more than 100,000 people. The issue was debated in Parliament. The Tory government, unwilling to change much, backed the incumbent.
The facts, as highlighted in Animals Aid's Horsedeathwatch website, speak for themselves. Since records were kept, there have been 1,854 horse deaths, on British racecourses, in 4,347 days. The status quo has been rocked by ceaseless opposition to these multiple deaths, which occur year after year.
horsedeathwatch.com/Now, at long last, Cheltenham Racecourse is making changes. Better it would be had this been enacted long before now. Horseracing, much like any other conservative entity, will not change unless it is opposed.
From the Guardian report:
Course officials at Cheltenham are taking the highly unusual step of moving a fence at the hallowed racetrack, to reduce risks for horses and jockeys at the high-profile Festival meeting next month.
One of the trickiest steeplechase fences at the home of jump racing will be moved, one of only two fences to be shifted in the past 20 years.There are several pro-racing threads on this forum. I choose not to post on them, preferring to let them be. In giving an alternative view, I have received abuse which is boorish and predictable.
Involved in campaigning for change for many years, I find the slow pace frustrating, but remain committed to driving that opposition.
It will please me greatly if, in March, when the Cheltenham Festival takes place, I have no deaths to chronicle.
For the animals.
Comments
Btw tragic loss of special tiara the weekend
I realise you have strong opinions on this subject but you must be aware that a petition of 100000 is only about 0.15 % of the population.
Seems a thread for the politics section to me.
Anyway... the petition was but one part of the arsenal. Some sneered at it, predicting that it would fail to reach 50,000.
The debate in the Commons raised issues that would not have been aired had the petition not occurred. The authorities were rattled by it and the publicity that resulted.
The BHA's review and the Jockey Club's re-siting of the fence could have happened in years past, had the will been there to do so. There were, after all, multiple deaths before 2018. Now, at last, we see some degree of change.
It has not been easy. For example, I wrote to the racecourse and was ignored. So I wrote again. And again, no response.
Numerous others contacted them, too. We don't give up.
This is a public forum. Issues of concern can be raised and debated in the public domain.
I used to be a fisherman........but that is for a future thread.
Dinosaurs eventually became extinct.
Are you some kind of missionary ?
I don't necessarily disagree with the core point of your thinking. I just don't see why it's on here.
Another example of Mans assumption that because he can dominate another species he should do so and then stick Sport in the title and that makes it ok!
Why don’t we have Piggy 🐷 Back racing and the Jockey 🏇 can whip the man instead!
Quick look on Google suggests that 88% of animals killed by halal method are stunned first. That needs to be 100%. Seems that Jewish "shechita" slaughtering doesn't involve any stunning. I'd be interested in any research that shows comparative animal suffering for all types of animal slaughter carried out in the UK. The suffering doesn't begin and end with the death.
When it comes to the petition in question, I signed in complete error. The sponsor of the petition, as well as its wording, essentially meant that the end goal of stopping horse deaths would be to stop the sport entirely. This was disingenuous and - in my opinion - sneaky.
I want to see the sport as safe as possible and minimal deaths of racehorses. However - and this is going to sound callous to many of you - I am prepared to accept that they are on occasion the price I pay for my enjoyment of NH racing (in particular).
I have blood on my hands; people like Peanuts and bobmunro do as well - and I am sure they would admit it, too.
As a lover of horseracing I am delighted that Cheltenham are taking further steps to improve the safety of horse and jockey - a process that has been ongoing for a number of years. I welcome the changes and support them unreservedly.
The ultimate aim however for the horse welfare lobby is to ban horseracing completely - something that I would not support.