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Racing - a ruthless industryMost people regard horse racing as a harmless sport in which the animals are willing participants who thoroughly enjoy the thrill. The truth is that behind the scenes lies a story of immense suffering. Approximately 15,000 foals are born into the racing industry each year, yet only a third go on to become racers. Those horses who do not make the grade may be killed for pet food, fed to hunting hounds or repeatedly change hands in a downward spiral of neglect. The survivors are denied their freedom and pushed to their limits to serve the financial interests of trainers, owners and bookies. Of those horses who do go on to race, around 375 are raced to death every year. Because they are bred for speed, not strength, many sustain irreparable breaks to their bones and are shot. |
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It is also common for them to develop serious racing-related illnesses such as bleeding lungs and gastric ulcers. Whilst performing, they are whipped in an attempt to spur them on, which is painful and makes them fearful and distracted. In fact, the more a horse is whipped, the less likely he or she is to win the race.
Our investigations have revealed other horrors behind the scenes. The top breeding stallions are so over-worked that the most coveted males often die from suspected exhaustion. Breeding females are subjected to artificial treatments that force them to become pregnant twice as often as they would naturally.
Every year, horses are injured and killed in the Grand National - a deliberately hazardous race in which most horses do not even finish. Animal Aid designates the week leading up to this cruel event Horse Racing Awareness Week, staging nationwide demonstrations.
Beneath its glamorous façade, commercial horse racing is a ruthless industry motivated by financial gain and prestige. Cruelty? You can bet on it! |
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Our 2005 report on the racing industry reveals the results of our
investigation into race horse deaths. 
