"Every dollar you spend, or don't spend, is a vote you cast for the world you want." - LN Smith
In Australia Melbourne Cup Day is one of the biggest national holidays there is, and yet it is something that I am far from proud of. I guess horse racing is still seen as a national past time. But if you think about it horse racing is actually incredibly old fashioned. As a society our morals have changed quite a bit since the 19th century (though you could say this only really applies to human rights issues given how our society still uses and abuses animals) when horse racing was a hugely popular sport. Yet the workings of the racing industry have really not changed at all - thousands of horses are still bred, raced ruthlessly, and then sent to the knackery without the blink of an eye.
It is estimated that somewhere between 15,000 and 25, 000 ex-racing horses are slaughtered in Australia annually because they are no longer profitable to race and deemed too expensive to keep. This is beyond unacceptable.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses are currently campaigning for a 1% levy to be placed on all betting turnover and for this to be put towards re-homing and rehabilitating all ex-race horses. This is essentially, a call for the racing industry to clean up after itself and to take responsibility for the horses it breeds. The racing industry, according to CPR, currently funds only three horse re-homing programs which together re-home about 100 horses each year. This is just not enough.
I personally think it is wrong to use animals for entertainment and to make money like this anyway. But, at the very least I just want to see these horses taken care of instead of killed.
CRP have a petition calling on the racing industry to implement this 1% levy.
Please do not attend the races or bet on horses while this cruelty continues.
Although few things compare to the beauty of a galloping horse, the fact that one animal can run faster than another has never astonished me. So I don't attend races or bet. But what truly leaves me overjoyed is the fact that you have returned to blogging. Hello again, Lizzy!
ReplyDeleteHey Geo - thanks! Yes I've had a little break (or quite a long break) and felt it would be nice to start blogging again. I feel like the last year and a bit has just flown by. Good to see you're still blogging too!
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