 |
| iStock.com |
| Tragic horse deaths spur calls for industry reforms. |
No one will be able to watch this weekend's Preakness Stakes (the second leg of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown) without recalling the image of a fallen Eight Belles being euthanized on the track after breaking two ankles at the Kentucky Derby.
Eight Belles' death, along with the deaths of two horses in the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington have the horse industry, the media and the public asking serious questions about the welfare of horses and other systemic problems in horse racing and eventing today.
With calls for reform sounding from every sector, Holly Hazard, chief innovations officer of The HSUS, sat down this week for a brief talk with Keith Dane, director of equine protection, and Connie Harriman-Whitfield, senior vice president for development. Both veterans of the horse industry, Dane and Harriman-Whitfield touch on some of the needed reforms and key safety and welfare issues for these equine athletes.
Holly Hazard: What is The HSUS's position on horse racing?
Keith Dane: We're not opposed to all horse racing, but we do have issues with certain elements of horse races that are detrimental to horses, such as the racing of two-year-old horses, the use of drugs in horses, and the excessive use of whips.
HH: What changes would HSUS leaders like to see in the industry?
KD: The difficulty in dealing with the racing industry is that there is no single entity with which to address concerns and seek reforms. We advocate the creation of a national body, such as a national racing commission, that would be charged with a mandate to look at animal welfare concerns and recommend reforms such as ending the racing of two-year-olds; examining the use of drugs; possible conversion to synthetic tracks; and other suggestions to address the animal welfare concerns of racing.
HH: One criticism that's leveled against animal protection groups getting involved in this is that they're pointing fingers without any expertise about what really is involved in training and racing a horse, what is really in the hearts and minds of the industry. What puts The HSUS in a position to have credibility and make a reasoned argument about this?
KD: Our equine protection department is staffed with horsemen and women who have years of experience in the horse industry, both as participants and as observers of incidents going on in the horse industry that are detrimental to horse welfare. So we not only have the humane aspect, but also the firsthand knowledge and experience aspect.
 |
| iStock.com |
The HSUS wants to support the leadership
of those equine industry groups that make
sincere efforts to safeguard equine lives. |
Connie Harriman-Whitfield: I've served on the Kentucky Horseracing Authority for four years as the vice chairman, and I have spent probably two weeks every month of those years in the city of Lexington, Ky. with veterinarians, horse trainers, horse owners and horse breeders.
I have learned a great deal about the many issues currently facing the horse industry, including the use of drugs in racehorses, jockey insurance, advertising, wagering, simulcasting, just a multitude of different issues which I've very much enjoyed working on.
KD: I've been a horse show exhibitor, a horse breeder and a horse show judge. I've been a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation as a licensed official and have had over 35 years of experience in this arena.
CHW: In addition to being the vice chairman of the Kentucky Horseracing Authority, which is the regulatory body overseeing all horseracing issues in the state of Kentucky—considered the horse capital of the world—I have also served as the chairman of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council, which considers issues such as drug research, drug testing, withdrawal guidelines if a horse is on a given drug, and any other regulatory subjects dealing with the topic of drugs.
This statutory body is charged with making recommendations to the Kentucky Horseracing Authority, and then the Authority decides whether or not to actually promulgate proposed regulations. Proposed regulations go to the state legislature, where the legislature will amend, approve or reject them. It's a triumvirate of bodies that act to establish the law in Kentucky regulating horseracing.
HH: Why wouldn't you want to give a horse drugs if he or she is in pain?
CHW: A horse who is in a great deal of pain should not be racing. It is not humane for the horse. It also creates a potentially dangerous situation for the jockey who's riding the horse, and for other jockeys who are riding in the same race. The unfortunate thing that happens is when there's a permissive use of drugs, oftentimes drugs are overused or combined for a synergistic effect with a huge potential to take away any feeling of pain.
Now, being on the Equine Drug Research Council I know very well that there are several drugs that are useful for therapeutic reasons. The problem becomes when those drugs are overused or combined.
KD: When horses are being asked to run under the influence of pain-masking drugs, they will run until they break down. And they don't have the ability to tell us how much pain they're in.
HH: Aren't all sports dangerous? Aren't you asking people in the racing industry and the horse industry to hold themselves to a higher standard than the National Football League or the National Baseball League? Aren't injury and death just part of choosing to live a sporting life?
KD: The key difference is that in all of those other sports, the human beings that participate are entirely in control of the decision whether or not to participate. In equestrian sports such as racing, the animals are being asked to perform for our entertainment, and put under stress and potentially be killed for our entertainment. They don't have a choice.
We have to look out for them and be their voice, and make sure that they're being protected.
You can also read HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle's blog on the Kentucky Derby»
