The League calls for an end to horse racing deaths
Posted 20th March 2023
One death is too many…
Horses are dying for entertainment and gambling.
In 2022 the Jockey club said it would leave no stone unturned to prevent horse racing deaths at the Cheltenham Festival. Not long after the release of this statement four horses died at the festival.
RIP Ginto, Born Patriot, Mindsmadeup, Whatmore and Shallwehaveonemore.
This year was no different.
RIP Malinello
This is disgraceful, even if you support horse racing. Horses are sentient beings which are being pushed to their limits leading to severe injuries and death.
What is the League Against Cruel Sports doing?
While a ban is out of reach, we’re calling for a vast improvement of safety measures and urging the horse racing industry to put welfare before profits.
Ban the whip
The use of the whip pushes the horse to perform beyond its normal capabilities and can result in injuries such as painful whelts and stress.
Even though new measures surrounding the whip have been implemented by the British Racing Authority, 20 jockeys were recently suspended after overuse of the whip. This brings into question whether these new rules are being ignored and if the best decision overall would be to ban them altogether.
Create a new independent regulatory body.
The racing industry is currently responsible for racehorse welfare. The number of on-course fatalities is still around 200 a year, and horses continue to be abused with the whip. The League is calling for a new, independent organisation with horse welfare at the heart of all it does to be established.
Animal welfare at racing events could also be improved by: reducing the number of horses in races; making fences more manageable for tiring horses and shortening the length of the races.
What have we been doing?
For the last four years, we’ve been supporting local activists from Gloucestershire Outreach Advocacy Team in Cheltenham town centre during the festival week. By joining together and making a stand against horse racing deaths, we’ve created awareness around the cruelty of horse racing.
This year we had overwhelming support from local people joining us on the street and through the many positive conversations we had with members of the public.
The news of the death of Malinello was terrible and shook us all. We were saddened but not surprised. One of the local activists put up a board with his name on it to ensure every race goer knew the name of the beautiful horse that had died and suffered for entertainment. We also had conversations with a some race goers attending for the first time who listened to what we were saying and agreed with our calls. They may decide not to attend again.
Of course we received abuse from race goers and many disgusting comments which could not be written here without offending people, but we always come away from the protests feeling positive as we did this year.
With the Grand National around the corner in April, how many more horses will die at the expense of entertainment and gambling?
Thank you to all those who campaign to make safer and better lives for racing horses.
One death is too many.
What can you do?
Join us in our call to end horse racing deaths.
Share our film highlighting the deaths of horses in the racing industry:
Join a supporter group and if there isn’t one near you email campaigns@league.org.uk
Become a voice for racehorses by contacting your MP and asking them to urgently discuss horse safety with the race organisers.
Donate to help us continue to make better lives for animals that face persecution from cruel sports.