The recent deaths of a young jockey and her horse at Murray Bridge were entirely preventable. Every time a horse is forced to race, lives are put at risk. This is the second death of a jockey in one week – but the death count for the horses themselves is far higher.
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Thoroughbreds used in racing are young, and their bodies are still developing. Their fragile legs are ill-suited to treacherous track conditions and break-neck speeds. Whipped from start to finish, horses have sustained catastrophic fractures, had heart attacks, run into the rails and collapsed. Over and over again, we see horses paying with their lives.
When those who manage to survive grow too old or too slow to warrant keeping, they aren’t allowed to live out their years in peace and comfort. Most are sold for slaughter, and their broken bodies end up as food for companion animals or on dinner plates. Appallingly, these victims may be the “lucky” ones. The misery doesn’t end for the former flat racers who end up on the deadly jumps circuit.
Horse racing is a cruel and dangerous pastime whose time has come and gone. As a civilised society, the only race that should “stop the nation” is the race to prevent more deaths of jockeys and horses.
Des Bellamy
Special projects co-ordinator
PETA Australia