What irks me the most is that some people clearly don't know what's right and what's wrong. Yes the Grand Nationals has been a part of Britain for quite awhile. It brings the people together, it's exciting it's this it's that. But, at the expense of the animals? - in this case horses.
Why is there a need to put up such a high fence for them to jump over? Yes, for one it makes it all the more challenging, but really? At the expense of the horses?
We humans sometimes think that we're the king of the world, and we can do whatever we deem is appropriate and right. But really, the world doesn't just consist of us, but also other living things.
These innocent horses die because they jump over a fence and fall over. Jumping over a fence only takes up about 2 seconds, within these 2 seconds these horses die an unjust death.
I watched ITV Morning this morning and the host was talking to the commentator about the Grand Nationals and how they think it should be banned. They had a row and were arguing back and forth and I felt this rage rising inside of me.
This Grand National that happened last Friday, whereby 2 horses died on the tracks were referred to as 'just obstacles' by the commentator. 1 of the horses called Ornais ( 9 years old ) broke his neck at the fourth fence, and within seconds, Dooneys Gate ( 10 years old ) broke his back when he fell head first over the bloody fence.
And to top it off, the BBC covered up the deaths of these horses with a tarpaulin and the other surrounded by screens. The commentator had the cheek to say that they were just an 'obstacle'.
According to ITV Morning which I watched this morning, it was said that 33 horses died in the Grand National since year 2000, and a total of 132 horses died in horseracing.
This is the first time I've heard of the Grand National, and only knew how big an event it is through my boyfriend. Undeniably, I was quite excited about it all, and we almost wanted to place a pound on a horse of our choice, and watch it. But, we didn't.. alas, we ended up in SeaBurn walking along the beach. However, in the change of events, I'm glad we were gallivanting around SeaBurn instead of watching a cruel event on television.
That aside, I want to raise awareness about this situation and am hoping that the Grand Nationals will be banned forever!
And, by the way Mr Commentator, they are not obstacles... They are living things just like me and you who breathes, and most of all, have feelings too.
Baby!
ReplyDeleteI am just as sad as you about the poor horsey's that fall over and die (presumably because they're shot if they can't recover from their injuries)
I think some of your statistics are a bit wrong though. I don't think33 have died in the last 12 months from just the grand national - as the grand national only happens once a year and horses don't die every year.
It seems like it's horse racing in general - rather than just the grand national - that is dangerous for the horses. Maybe the sport should be made A LOT safer.
I mean, imagine if people were racing and jumping over fences as they do in athletics. If people kept falling off and dying (either dying of their injuries or being shot by their doctor in the event that they are paralysed), then either it would be banned, or there would be a massive effort to improve safety.
But I don't understand why everyone is so worked up about the BBC referring to dead horses as obstancles. How is the BBC to know that the horses are dead? Well, maybe the tarpaulins give it away. But still, lots of little children watch the race and you don;t want to upset them. And lastly, the BBC deals in facts, not opinions. They said the horses were dead after the race and just called them obstacles during the race. It was a euphimism - anyone who knows anything about horse racing would have known that the obstacles might be dead or injured horses - and that way the children don;t get upset.
Anyway, the BBC can't be to blame. They're just commentating on a horse race. But should steps be taken to make horse racing safer? I had no idea so many horses were dying worldwide each year!!