Were you one of the recipients of PETA’s email missive on the subject of Eight Belles? Here’s my receipt from the “PETA Action Center:”
Dear Patty:
As I am sure you have heard, after crossing the finish line in last Saturday's Kentucky Derby, a young filly named Eight Belles collapsed when both her front ankles snapped. She was euthanized in the dirt where she lay, the latest victim of the dirty business of thoroughbred racing.
Help PETA prevent further suffering in the racing industry by taking action today.
Eight Belles' death is yet another reminder that horses are raced when they are so young that their bones have not properly formed, and they are often raced on surfaces that are too hard for their bones—like the hard track at Churchill Downs. Eight Belles' jockey whipped her mercilessly as she came down the final stretch. Trainers, owners, and jockeys are driven by the desire to make money, and the horses suffer terribly for it.
PETA is calling on the racing industry to suspend the jockey and trainer; bar the owner from racing at the track; stop racing horses on hard tracks and switch to softer, synthetic surfaces to spare horses' bones and joints; permanently ban the use of whips; and, at the very least, stop using young horses who are so susceptible to these types of horrific injuries. Help PETA call for an end to cruelty that masquerades as sport.
Although Eight Belles' death—like Barbaro's death before hers—made headlines, countless lesser-known horses suffer similar fates away from the public eye. These horses' broken legs and battered bodies are hidden from public view. Most racehorses end up broken down or cast off or are sent to Europe for slaughter.
Please take action today to help prevent cruelty in the racing industry by asking the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to institute sweeping reforms that would stop needless, preventable suffering.
Thank you for your action and compassion for animals.
Kind regards,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
No doubt I can do nothing but agree with PETA’s end-game as it’s stated here. It’s words like these, forthright, completely heartfelt and simply delivered via mass email campaigns like this one that grows PETA’s membership daily.
But giving credit where it’s due is not so easy on this one. Because yet again, PETA’s tactics leave much to be desired.
No, not the email itself. Internet mailings to subscribers are a perfectly acceptable approach to reaching a large group of potentially like-minded individuals. In this case, I’m referring to a variety of other issues the message itself raises:
1-How does sanctioning the jockey fit into this? Since Sunday when this news borke (sans email), I’ve been marveling at PETA’s dumbfoudingly ridiculous jab at the jockey. What’s that all about? Almost all those jockeys whipped their horses. Why not call for a uniform suspension of all jockeys?
2-And the trainer? Show me one that bests Big Brown’s for his well-documented, disgusting, horse-doping behavior. After examining this guy’s pedigree, you’ll never convince me that Eight Belles’ trainer deserves a special sanction over all the other guys in his field—just because his horse was the one to go down.
3-And finally, am I really to believe that PETA seeks to reform the sport? If their approach to pets is any measure, it’s clear to me they’d love nothing better than to see the entire shebang shut down overnight and its animals summarily dispatched by a bevy of vets wielding pink juice.
But they don’t say so. Nope—they won’t. They’d rather have you believe their aims are to make the sport safer. Their target? The average animal lover who wants to believe they’re helping animals wherever they can…even if it takes sending PETA a few bucks to help make it happen.
By that I mean no disrespect to you, should you be one of those mailing list recipients who occasionally sends money to PETA when a shocking event like this shakes us up. After all, you’re not the only ones on their list, right?
Still, I want to be sure that you understand the difference between what PETA really wants and what their downplayed goals say.
I confess, part of that is just the need to distinguish my aspirations for the sport and those of organizations like PETA’s. After everything I’ve learned about PETA over the past year, it feels somewhat dirty to know that PETA and I might be sharing the same sheets. So, for the record, here’s where I state my case:
Thoroughbred racing is a viable sport—if it can show itself one that can adapt with the cultural sensibility of the times. It must commit itself to the quality of life of the horse in ways that go far beyond spoiling them silly in the stables. It needs to find ways to address the serious safety concerns of the track, even though we know there will never be a horserace 100% free of risk.
More moderate-minded lovers of the sport, some which, like me, consider themselves reluctant crusaders, are calling for change in the following ways:
We want dirt tracks replaced with polytrack or turf. We want no horses under three years of age training at breakneck speeds on immature limbs. We want dopers dealt with definitively (do you know what steroids do to the bones and joints of developing horses?). And we want reduced fields of horses vying for the inside rail.
The racing banners and racing reformers may not all agree on the goals and details of the changes we seek, but ultimately, we’re all of the same mind: We don’t want to see the “finish line” interpreted quite so literally when real reform is within our grasp.
Add Comment11 Comments
I don't know if you have seen this, but here is the response of Alex Waldrop, CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, to the tragedy of Eight Belles and the subsequent criticism of the racing industry:
http://www.ntra.com/blog.aspx?blogid=15&year=2...
As he says, the industry can't change overnight. But at least at the very top levels, change is genuinely desired and steps are being taken. Waldrop invites commentary, I plan to write him a letter of support letting him know that as a fan (particularly as a woman who grew up a horse-crazy girl who was rooting for the filly) I deeply appreciate that the NTRA is taking concrete steps to make improvements.
regina May 7th, 2008 10:13:00 AM
PETA is a BAD ally for anyone wanting to reform horse racing, or anything else for that matter. They are not honest participants, since their goal is to eliminate all human uses of other animal species. And they would use their allies to promote the idea that PETA is mainstream and works nicely with others.
NEVER donate to PETA or participate in any of their campaigns, even if you agree with the apparent immediate goal.
EmilyS May 7th, 2008 10:43:00 AM
The part I find strange is that the headline at the PETA action center reads:
"Eight Belles" Should Sound the End of Racetrack Betting"
But the actual action letter makes no mention of the betting. I think PETA actually had it right (for once) in the headline. If you want to drain the swamp in horse racing get rid of the betting.
Take away the money and the incentive to win at any cost would drop. Try to reform while not draining the money out of the sport will just lead to more creative ways of pushing horse 'til they drop.
Larry May 7th, 2008 11:30:00 AM
The betting is the profit, the consumer input, prize money and track support. So I think that would be reforming it into non-exitence. Not saying I couldn't live with that but it is an industry. Moving it to an ad-supported rich man's hobby (like large yatch racing) without eliminating it would be a difficult process.
[second attempt]
emily May 7th, 2008 11:34:00 AM
Today's On Point was about the Thoroughbred industry and all of the issues that have been brought up by Eight Belles' death--very worthwhile listening. Guests included sports columnist Sally Jenkins; Jim Squires, breeder of Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos; Wayne Pacelle, who I'm sure needs no introduction here; and John Stick, equine surgeon and chief of staff at MSU's Veterinarian Teaching University.
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/05/20080507...
regina May 7th, 2008 12:15:00 PM
Yeah, stopping horse betting, now there's a realistic goal to strive for. While were at it, lets see if we can squeeze some gasoline out of a turnip.
I don't know enough about horse racing to formulate an opinion on the ethics of the industry. I do know one thing, I am 100% firmly opposed to whatever PETA is in favor of.
Chip May 7th, 2008 01:29:00 PM
I think there is a time and place to work with almost anyone. if Smithfield foods can work with Peta to some extent in developing their stock truck traffic accident response anything can happen.
emily May 7th, 2008 04:24:00 PM
> Yeah, stopping horse betting, now there's a realistic goal to strive for. While
> were at it, lets see if we can squeeze some gasoline out of a turnip.
Well, Chipster, as it so happens Turnips are a pretty decent source of biofuel. Look it up.
As for betting, I am old enough to remember when you actually had to GO to the track to place a bet. With the expansion of OTB, and now internet betting, betting on the horses has ballooned from a relatively small event attended by crazy uncles and drunks to a $17 billion (yeah, I said billion) dollar industry.
Now you can sit in the comfort of your own home and place a parlay on a horse placing then dying on the track. (fyi odds are 2850 - 1 Big Brown wins the Triple Crown then dies in the winners circle)
If Americans get sufficiently disgusted with horses being crippled and killed it will be pretty easy to shut down racetrack betting. And yes, if that wipes out the sport completely I would view it as a bonus.
I wonder how many people that accept horse racing also defend bull fighting and Greyhound races?
Larry May 7th, 2008 06:11:00 PM
Screw peta. They do more harm than good to the slow movement of animal rights to the mainstream.
Also, horses are not shipped to Europe for slaughter, they are slaughtered in Canada or Mexico and are more often shipped to asia than europe for consumption.
One viable concern I have regarding the consumption of these poor offcast horses of the racing industry is--- so much is done to keep them sound, to try to enhance performance, to keep them running even as their bodies break down... on the good ones little cost is spared (look at Barbaros case for a rather extreme example) yet some fo these horses end up in the food chain despite having had chemicals used in treatment that are not to be used in animals destined for human consumption.
There's another conundrum...
Also, the attempt to refocus media attention on the winner's owner (Big Brown's owner) simply points out another fault in the racing industry. If you look beyond the media hype and the glossed over story this gent wants to portray, you'll find he has quite the history of allegations of doping and using performance enhancing drugs on his racing animals..
Horse racing won't go away overnight, but I hope Peta's media blitz following the sad end of 'Eight Bells' won't turn people away from casting a critical eye on the industry. I know too many people who assume, once Peta gets involved, that the allegations are overblown. It would be nice to see some investigative reporting following the fate of the average racehorse- and also following the fate of some that don't 'make the cut'.
jenni May 8th, 2008 01:44:00 AM
Dr. K, I totally agree with you. We want:
polytrack required for ALL tracks -- not just the big $$ makers
no horses under 3 years of age allowed to compete -- maybe even raising the age to 4 years
dopers severely penalized
reduced fields of horses vying for the inside
....and I'll add: more of us to speak up and hold the NTRA accountable!
mb
mb May 8th, 2008 10:18:00 AM
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