Animal welfare
25 September, 2011
Filed in Category: welfare
A Big Week In Animal Welfare
There have been a couple of big stories in animal welfare this week.
The first is the banning of bull fighting in Catalonia, Spain. After a 7-year campaign by local animal rights groups the local authority have finally banned bullfighting. The last event was held yesterday before a large crowd.
Nevertheless, bullfighting is still permissible in the other regions of Spain and it will probably be a long time before the ban spreads across the country. But it is a start and now that a precedent has been set, it will go a long way to forcing change in the rest of the country.
Bullfighting is a centuries old tradition in Spain and it is tradition that is given as the main reason for maintaining the sport.
But in my view, tradition is not a valid reason for perpetuating abuse of animals. There is nothing honourable about a bull that is drugged to the eyeballs and then killed in such a tormented and cruel way. I believe people forfeit the right to earn an income when it relies on the abuse of others – whether other humans or animals.
Tradition is one reason given for the other sport that I want to mention in regard to action being taken on the grounds of animal welfare. I’m talking about hurdle or jumps racing.
In Victoria and South Australia jumps racing is still legal despite several horse deaths a year. Each year around 10 or 12 horses are killed through this sport. There have been howls of protest and calls for the sport to be banned by animal welfare rights. But nothing has happened except to introduce a few new rules, which have proved totally ineffective.
Now the animal welfare organization, RSPCA, has received legal advice that there are solid legal grounds for prosecuting owners, trainer and racing bodies for the death or injury of a horse during a race. A spokesman for the RSPCA said they are looking at mounting a test case in the near future.
At first I thought this was great news because in my opinion jumps racing is a horrible and cruel sport. But then I realized the potential dangers of owners and trainers of horses being prosecuted for any cause of injury or death of a horse. I could see how this could extend to eventing, polo or show jumping – sports where horses die from time to time. Well, maybe that is not such a bad thing – yes? no? But what about if a horse has an accident in a horse trailer and needs to be put down or a horse runs through a fence and breaks its neck or breaks a leg in a rabbit hole. Could these also be cases where the law might make owners legally liable for the death of their horse?
It would seem that the tactic that the RSPCA is contemplating is a good idea on the surface, but there maybe hidden ramifications that could have the whole horse industry holding their breath. I could imagine horse sporting organizations banning young horses or stallions from events in fear of legal action. Maybe all horse shows will be cancelled except perhaps the “quietest pony” competitions.
As much as I’d like to see jumps racing banned in Australia, I do have concerns about the precedent it might set up to sue owners and trainers on the basis of animal welfare grounds.
There have been a couple of big stories in animal welfare this week.
The first is the banning of bull fighting in Catalonia, Spain. After a 7-year campaign by local animal rights groups the local authority have finally banned bullfighting. The last event was held yesterday before a large crowd.
Nevertheless, bullfighting is still permissible in the other regions of Spain and it will probably be a long time before the ban spreads across the country. But it is a start and now that a precedent has been set, it will go a long way to forcing change in the rest of the country.
Bullfighting is a centuries old tradition in Spain and it is tradition that is given as the main reason for maintaining the sport.
But in my view, tradition is not a valid reason for perpetuating abuse of animals. There is nothing honourable about a bull that is drugged to the eyeballs and then killed in such a tormented and cruel way. I believe people forfeit the right to earn an income when it relies on the abuse of others – whether other humans or animals.
Tradition is one reason given for the other sport that I want to mention in regard to action being taken on the grounds of animal welfare. I’m talking about hurdle or jumps racing.
In Victoria and South Australia jumps racing is still legal despite several horse deaths a year. Each year around 10 or 12 horses are killed through this sport. There have been howls of protest and calls for the sport to be banned by animal welfare rights. But nothing has happened except to introduce a few new rules, which have proved totally ineffective.
Now the animal welfare organization, RSPCA, has received legal advice that there are solid legal grounds for prosecuting owners, trainer and racing bodies for the death or injury of a horse during a race. A spokesman for the RSPCA said they are looking at mounting a test case in the near future.
At first I thought this was great news because in my opinion jumps racing is a horrible and cruel sport. But then I realized the potential dangers of owners and trainers of horses being prosecuted for any cause of injury or death of a horse. I could see how this could extend to eventing, polo or show jumping – sports where horses die from time to time. Well, maybe that is not such a bad thing – yes? no? But what about if a horse has an accident in a horse trailer and needs to be put down or a horse runs through a fence and breaks its neck or breaks a leg in a rabbit hole. Could these also be cases where the law might make owners legally liable for the death of their horse?
It would seem that the tactic that the RSPCA is contemplating is a good idea on the surface, but there maybe hidden ramifications that could have the whole horse industry holding their breath. I could imagine horse sporting organizations banning young horses or stallions from events in fear of legal action. Maybe all horse shows will be cancelled except perhaps the “quietest pony” competitions.
As much as I’d like to see jumps racing banned in Australia, I do have concerns about the precedent it might set up to sue owners and trainers on the basis of animal welfare grounds.