Behind the romanticized façade of thoroughbred horse racing
is a world of injuries, drug abuse, gruesome breakdowns, and slaughter.
Every year, PETA receives countless calls from people within
the multibillion-dollar horse-racing industry who are in despair over the fate
of horses who are bred and raced to the grave or sent on a terrifying journey
at the end of their short lives to painful deaths in a foreign slaughterhouse.
When celebrated filly Eight Belles was euthanized on the
track after breaking both front ankles during the 2008 Kentucky Derby, PETA
called for Congressional hearings into abuse in the horse-racing industry and
for reforms to focus on the issues that have the greatest impact on the welfare
of horses, including the following:
- The use of performance-enhancing drugs
- The age at which horses begin racing and the abuse of yearlings and 2-year-olds in training
- Hard track surfaces, which devastate the limbs of young horses
- Excessive breeding of horses
- The use of whips
- Auctions, claiming races, and serial ownership
- The slaughter of "retired" horses
While Eight Belles' death was one very public tragedy, three
horses die or are killed after suffering catastrophic injuries during races on
tracks across America every single day. This doesn't include the horses who
break down during warm-ups or who die from illnesses caused by overwork,
travel, and stress. And as many as 10,000 thoroughbreds are shipped to Canada
and Mexico for slaughter every year when they're no longer profitable to the
racing industry.
"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been among racing's leading critics. It still is."—Tom Pedulla, USA Today
Source: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/horse-racing-.aspx
