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Animal Defenders of Westchester |
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Home Page We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts. Animal Defenders of Westchester |
Articles Racing from Another Perspective: Experts' Statements about Racing by Holly Cheever, DVM From "Cruelty is an inherent part of the horse racing industry. Thousands of
horses are produced annually, from which a few racers are chosen, the rest
blown away like chaff in the wind. The big money is in racing the 2 and 3
year olds, for whom training begins at 1�, before their bodies are fully
developed and their growth plates have closed. Unnatural weight is put on
their backs, concussive stress on their bones, and they are forced to submit
to an overly strict training regimen. Nightmarish injuries like on-the-track
fractures leave them finished by the age of 4�6, when they are barely
mature. Decisions about their fate are made in the interest of the bottom
line dollar, not their health. Injured animals are loaded up on drugs to run
one more race. "The unnatural stresses inherent in competing so aggressively and at such
a young age also engender problems such as gastric ulceration and pulmonary
(lung field) bleeding, not observed in horses worked at reasonable levels.
These health and injury problems once again necessitate � economically � the
use of drugs to maintain the horse�s racing value (but not well-being). "Some horse-owners are either unwilling or unable to provide expensive
veterinary care for a horse who may not be successful enough to earn his or
her keep. Even when they provide veterinary care, they typically do not
allow the horse sufficient time for recovery. Instead, they the send horse
out to train or race on still-unhealed limbs. This purely economic
motivation stands behind the racetrack saying 'A horse makes no money just
standing in his stall.' Once they decide that the horse does not have, or
had exhausted, his race-winning potential, they sell the horse to an equine
auction, from where horses are either sent to a slaughterhouse that ships
horsemeat to the European and Japanese market, or into a downward spiral of
abuse at the hands of new owners who may think they would like a retired
racehorse, but forget about horses� longevity and the expense necessary to
maintain them properly. "Experience in the U.S. shows that the most expensive horses and the
wealthiest owners race their horses at the most expensive racecourses, while
less wealthy owners with less expensive horses race at marginal courses. The
profit margin at these marginal venues, where the 'has-been�s' or the ones
who never made it to the top are raced, is lower. At these places, where
owners have fewer funds and the prizes are smaller, horse care is
compromised even more and the cruelty is even more damaging and prevalent.
"The undeniable and inescapable problem with the thoroughbred industry is
that thousands of foals must be produced in order to develop a few dozen
good racers. The excess often meet with inhumane ends and similarly, when
race horses are no longer money-earning winners, they too often end up
neglected, abandoned, and starving at the hands of uncaring owners, with
their final end being the slaughterhouse. For instance, a Kentucky Derby
winner was slaughtered in Japan in 2004, despite his spectacular win a
decade earlier. The distressing fate of the thousands of abused, neglected
and abandoned horses in the United States is recognized by the American
Association of Equine Practitioners � the world�s premiere equine veterinary
organization � as its primary and most pressing problem. "United States legislators, both state and federal, have attempted to
constrain the industry�s economically-driven incentives and proven cruelty
against horses through an elaborate set of statutes and regulations.
Unfortunately, these attempts have largely failed. The industry continues to
operate at the status quo, which includes drugging and other unacceptable
practices. How will the Israeli people feel if the specter of numerous
starved and abandoned horses � the result of unfettered greed � becomes a
major blot on the nation�s honor? No moral country should allow this cruel
industry to gain a foothold." Dr. Holly Cheever was a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University,
and she was first in her 1980 graduating class at Cornell University
Veterinary School. Dr. Cheever wrote two chapters in the book
Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff, published by Blackwell Press.
The chapters include a guide to investigating animal abuse, especially
equine abuse. She was a contributing author to How to Investigate Animal
Cruelty in NY State � A Manual of Procedures. She has won awards
from the ASPCA and the HSUS (largest humane organizations in the U.S.) and
from the New York State Troopers (New York State Police) for her work in
cruelty investigations, prosecutions, and humane education. Dr. Cheever was
voted Veterinarian of the Year by the New York State Humane Association, and
she currently serves as their Vice President. Dr. Cheever teaches a course
to New York State law officers (police, state troopers, animal control
officers, and others) four times a year on how to investigate animal abuse.
She has been around horses all her life, including race horses. |
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