PETA’s Horseracing Ad Rejected
Despite revelations that thousands of horses who had been used for racing are being sent to abattoirs in Australia, a new PETA ad about horseracing has been rejected by the Australian Radio Network in Melbourne.
The radio spot was made to sound like commentary at a typical horse race, but rather than following the race, it describes the cause of death of a number of horses – including the famous Melbourne Cup fatalities of The Cliffsofmoher, Regal Monarch, Red Cadeaux, Admire Rakti, and Araldo.
“If we were to call out the horseracing industry over every horse who’s died for entertainment, we’d be here til next spring,” the ad finishes. “Horseracing – you bet it’s cruel.”
You can listen to the ad below and decide for yourself if it should have played.
While the ad was deemed too controversial for the Victorian radio network, what’s really controversial is the way horses are treated in the industry. The ABC’s 7.30 programme recently revealed that around 300 horses went through just one facility, Meramist Abattoir in Queensland, during just 22 days of observation. As the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses points out, “It equates to about 4,000 racehorses (a year) killed in this one abattoir alone.”
Australian horses also sometimes end up in overseas abattoirs. In June, a PETA exposé revealed that some 3,000 Australian horses and their offspring had been cast off by the Australian racing industry and killed for meat in South Korea. The investigated abattoir has been charged with violations of the South Korean Animal Protection Act.
Then there are the deaths at the track. During the last racing year, 122 horses died on Australian racetracks, yet most of us only hear about it when a horse dies at the Melbourne Cup.
That’s why ads like this are important. Amongst all the frivolity, the champagne, and the fashions on the field, horses’ lives are being thrown away like used betting strips.
Each spring, we’re bombarded with advertisements about having a day at the races, what to wear to the races, and what to drink at the races. However, most people don’t know the cruel reality of what they’re supporting because it’s not profitable to talk about wastage, breakdowns, and deaths.
There’s no justification for exploiting animals for entertainment and killing them when they’re no longer considered useful.
People who care about horses are turning their backs on the Melbourne Cup and every other race in which horses are being run to death. The day will come when what is moral matters more than what is profitable.
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