Record number of British racehorses being slaughtered for meat exports

[David Guyatt]

Would it be too shocking to offer the view that one day human flesh will be treated in the same manner?

Job done, a quick trip to abattoir and then exported for lunch...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb...al-welfare

Record number of British racehorses being slaughtered for meat exports
Concern at huge rise in number of animals disposed of once their racing life is over

Jamie Doward and Tracy McVeigh
The Observer, Sunday 6 February 2011


Corran Ard, pictured in the foreground winning the Bank of Ireland Global Markets Handicap Stakes in 2006, was saved from slaughter in France at the last minute. Photograph: Racingfotos

Philip Larkin immortalised them in his poem At Grass. Old racehorses, their victories long forgotten, "stand anonymous again". The retired racehorses, Larkin claimed, "have slipped their names, and stand at ease, or gallop for what must be joy".

But for many horses the prospect of spending their final days in "unmolesting meadows" is little more than fantasy. New figures released by the government show that last year 7,933 horses were slaughtered for meat in England, Scotland and Wales, representing a 50% increase on the average number slaughtered in previous years.

"A lot of that increase, at least half, will be thoroughbreds," said Dene Stansall, an adviser to Animal Aid, a charity that campaigns against the use of animals in sport. Stansall said a huge increase in the number of foals born to supply the racing industry, up from around 5,000 in 1960 to almost 19,000 a couple of years ago, was the main factor driving the slaughter of horses.

But as a racehorse will cease competing after three or four years yet can live for up to 30 years, many will have decades ahead of them once they stop racing.

The oversupply is particularly acute in Ireland where there is an eight-week wait for horses to be slaughtered, resulting in a growing number being shipped to the UK to be shot and then bled.

The slaughter figures tell only part of the story. Many horses are sent to knackers' yards or turned into meat to feed hunt dogs, according to Animal Aid.

Finding the horses a home after they have raced is difficult, as cash-strapped families are also abandoning their animals, placing acute pressures on sanctuaries.

"The current recession has now added to an already critical situation and is starting to reflect heavily on the re- homing process of this sanctuary," said Graham Oldfield, of the Racehorse Sanctuary in West Sussex.

Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare, said vets were reporting a rise in owners wanting their horses put down. "If an animal is older and perhaps not in the best health it may be better to have it kindly put to sleep than to sell or pass it on, when you don't know what kind of home it may go to, or whether it will end up in the meat market."

However, with each racehorse costing around £5,000 to look after per year, sending them to slaughterhouses is becoming an attractive option for owners who cannot sell them on. In 2009, Stansall estimated about 50% of racehorses in Ireland and 30% in England were failing to sell at auction. That proportion is expected to have risen last year.

Virtually all of the meat from horses slaughtered in the UK is exported to the rest of Europe, as it is still highly prized in some countries.

"Racehorses are always well stuffed with grub," Stansall said. "They are lean-looking animals, but don't get deceived by their thin legs. Look at the rump, there is lots of flesh."

He cited the fate of Capped For Victory, an eight-year-old once owned by Sheikh Maktoum Rashid al-Maktoum, the late ruler of Dubai, as that which typically befalls old racehorses. Imported from the US to Britain, where he raced 17 times, the horse was given away free at the end of his racing career. Within days of finishing 10th out of 12 runners in his final race, Capped For Victory had been killed, although how he died is unclear. "Whether or not he was rendered down or turned into meat I don't know," Stansall said. "But his meat carcass value would have been worth around £600."

Corran Ard, a prize-winning nine-year-old gelding, was retired from racing last year and was due to be slaughtered in France. He was saved at the last minute when an animal rights campaigner spotted him for sale on a website.

Animal charities accuse the racing industry, which races about 8,000 horses a year, of not doing enough to look after the animals once they have finished racing. However, the industry has been proactive in trying to secure homes for old racehorses. It pays for about 200 horses a year to be rehabilitated so that they can be ridden conventionally, although the process is expensive.

Financial pressures plaguing the racing industry are also being blamed. Many betting companies are locating offshore to avoid having to pay tax. As some of this tax has traditionally been distributed back across the racing industry, some trainers and owners are struggling to turn a profit.

"There's a major crisis," Stansall said. "You've probably got, say, 13 horses in a race at Wolverhampton or Southwell running for less than £2,000 prize money for first place. As a result there's been a big increase in horses abandoned."

Even valued horses can suffer this fate. Lady Margaret, who raced five times in a season and went into breeding as a brood mare, giving birth to three thoroughbred foals, died in 2010 aged 14 due to injuries caused by neglect.

Figures from the British Horseracing Authority, which did not return calls last week, show the recession is starting to have an impact on the breeding of thoroughbred horses, with the number of new foals being registered in Britain declining 23% between 2008 and 2010.

But Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, said there needed to be a culture shift in the way the UK views horses.

"There is this notion that the British cherish horses but we need to think more about the fate of horses in our culture. It's a lot darker than we like to think."

[Charles Drago]

If you eat any of this delicacy, will you get the runs?

[David Guyatt]

We also call it the "gallops" over here Charlie.

[Charles Drago]

Seriously, here we move a bit more slowly.

We call it "the trots."