The German Animal Welfare Federation is critical of the current campaign by the German Gallop Association. The initiative entitled “Facts instead of concerns” aims to refute prejudices against horse racing. However, instead of answering legitimate animal welfare questions, the campaign ignores central problems and trivializes the burdens on the animals, according to the German Animal Welfare Association. At the same time, the German Gallop Association conceals deaths in the race reports.
“The campaign was intended to dispel skepticism, but it has only intensified our concerns and criticism,” explains Andrea Mihali, horse consultant at the German Animal Welfare Federation. The Animal Welfare Federation sees a central problem in the way the German Gallop Association argues. The statements in the campaign are based neither on independent studies nor on scientific findings. Instead, the association refers to internal reports as well as statements by a journalist who compares his perception of pain to that of a racehorse after he himself demands lashes from a jockey. “The conclusion that racehorses cannot feel pain from whippings is presumptuous. Scientific studies clearly show the opposite,” criticizes Mihali.
Horses that are too young under too much strain
In gallop racing, one-year-old horses are already in training and at the age of two they are used in races - an immense strain on the animals' not yet fully developed musculoskeletal system. As a result, many horses are usually unable to race beyond the age of five because their health can no longer keep up. Only a fraction of them find a buyer or are used for breeding. In the view of the German Animal Welfare Association, horse owners and breeders should therefore have to prove how many of the foals they breed actually end up on the racetrack and what happens to those animals that do not even get into racing, are injured in the course of their career or are retired.
Concealment of deaths
Animal welfare activists are concerned about the lack of transparency in dealing with injured and deceased horses. For example, the German Gallop Association no longer documents deaths in its race reports. Horses that are so badly injured after falls that euthanasia is the only option are merely listed as “inactive” in the statistics. The German Animal Welfare Association criticizes the fact that this labelling obscures the actual fate of the animals. The association is calling for more transparency and has already written several letters to the German Canter Association.
Profit interests come before the needs of the horses
The way the animals are kept is also often not appropriate for horses. Racehorses spend most of their time in cramped stalls, have little freedom of movement and little social contact. “It is time to take a serious look at the sport of horse racing. The needs of the animals must take center stage and not economic interests,” says Mihali.
Note to editors:
See here the detailed statement on the “Facts instead of concerns” campaign, in which the German Animal Welfare Association explains why the German Gallop Association has failed to refute justified points of criticism.
