• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cheltenham Betting Offers

  • Home
  • Free Bets
  • Meetings
    • New Year’s Day Meeting
    • Festival Trials Day
    • Cheltenham Festival
    • April Meeting
    • Race Night
    • Showcase Meeting
    • November Meeting
    • International Meeting
  • News
  • Articles
    • Stats & Trends

Race Horses Will No Longer Enter Food Chain, Says BHA

October 8, 2021

horse being cared forThe British Horseracing Authority is entering a rule change that will ensure that horses that run in the United Kingdom will not be allowed to be sold to abattoirs from January 2022. The decision follows a July investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme which discovered that as many as 4,000 former racehorses entered the food chain between July 2019 and the time of the investigation. Some of the horses were owned by prominent figures within the world of horse racing, though the practice has been widely condemned.

The Director Of Equine Health & Welfare for the BHA, James Given, said that transporting horses to an abattoir before selling them for consumption was an approach that the horse racing industry shouldn’t tolerate. He was also clear that such a practice should ‘not be classed as euthanasia’. One of the key reasons behind the rule change was in order to ensure that all horses were treated with the most appropriate drugs when injured on a racecourse. Any horses not signed out of the human food chain can’t be given certain drugs.

What Has Been Happening

gordon elliottThe investigation carried out by the BBC’s Panorama team discovered that thousands of racehorses were being sent to abattoirs in Great Britain and Ireland. On top of that, some of the top slaughterhouses in the country were ignoring rules that were designed to stop horses from being killed in a cruel manner. Since the start of 2019, more than 4,000 former racehorses, most of whom had been trained in Ireland, had been slaughtered for meat. Many of these horses were young thoroughbreds, much to the disgust of Animal Aid.

It was not just failed horses that were sent to the slaughterhouse, with many of them having had illustrious careers that saw them win thousands of pounds in prize money. A number of the horses had come from the yard of trainer Gordon Elliott, who was already in hot water at the time of the programme’s release after photos of him sitting on the body of a dead horse to take a phone call emerged early in 2021. He denied having anything to do with the horses going to abattoirs, saying two had been sent to a horse dealer and one to another rider at the request of its owner.

Regulations say that horses should not be killed within sight of each other, but footage recorded horses being shot together 26 times over just four days of filming. A veterinary behavioural specialist from the University of Lincoln called Professor Daniel Mills explained that this would have been ‘very distressing’ for the horses. The regulations also say that every effort should be made to make sure that the death is as rapid as possible, but that’s not what the footage seemed to show. As many as 91 of the horses were shot ‘from distance’, resulting in them still being able to turn their neck and heads.

Not only did the horses suffer during their final moments, but in many cases they also suffered on their way to the abattoir. A number of the horses sent to the Drury and Sons slaughterhouse had suffered career ending injuries, yet were transported as much as 350 miles from Ireland in order to be euthanised. That, according to veterinary expert Dr Hannah Donovan, was ‘not a human process’. Drury and Sons denied any wrongdoing, stating that they ‘take great care to maintain high welfare conditions’, in spite of the evidence to the contrary.

What The BHA Is Doing

british horse racing authorityThe British Horseracing Authority’s response to the Panorama episode has been to pass new rules that will ensure that such things cannot happen in the future. From January 2022, horses will be able to be sent to abattoirs as a means of being put down but will not be allowed to then be sold into the food chain. The change to the rule was actually suggested in January of 2021, but required approval from the board and rules committee of the BHA, which is why it has taken so long to become a genuine rule change.

The new rule will apply to all horses that are trained as runners in the United Kingdom, meaning that entries will be declined if it does not say in the horse’s passport and the Weatherbys app that the horse will not be used for human consumption. The British Horseracing Authority is also liaising with other jurisdictions in order to ensure that the rule change will apply to international horses running in Great Britain too. Given declared it to be a ‘great development’ the ‘follows on from work done last year by the Horse Welfare Board’.

Does It Go Far Enough?

world horse welfare organisationWelfare charities are unconvinced that the rule changes being introduced by the BHA go far enough. There are talks from some quarters that an ‘underground trade’ will still exist and that the move is not the ‘welfare panacea it might appear’. The Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, Roly Owers, believes that it is ‘an interesting development’ but that it might well end up having ‘unintended consequences’. Owers feels that the British Horseracing Authority will need to closely monitor the impact that the change has and ‘act where necessary’.

Owers said,

“Equally this change will make the need for lifetime responsibility and traceability for all former racehorses ever more important as the slaughterhouse will no longer be an outlet. And until there is a robust digital equine identification system there is still a risk that some racehorses will be entered into the food chain fraudulently in an underground trade that we know carries grave risks for equine welfare.”

Still, Given is convinced that it is a step in the right direction and pointed out that the ‘four cornerstone stakeholder groups’ in horse racing were all consulted and ‘all unanimously agreed that this was the right and proper thing to do’. He said,

“The transporting of horses to an abattoir to be sold for consumption should not, in my view, be classed as euthanasia and is not an approach that we should tolerate in our sport, which is why a rule preventing this practice is a positive step. I am confident that most British trainers and owners agree with me on this and already observe this principle.”

Primary Sidebar

Cheltenham Free Bets

Meetings at Cheltenham

  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Champion Day
    • Ladies Day
    • St Patrick’s Thursday
    • Gold Cup Day
  • Festival Trials Day
  • New Year’s Day
  • November Meeting
    • Countryside Day
    • Gold Cup Day
    • November Meeting Sunday
  • Race Night
  • Showcase Meeting
    • The Showcase Friday
    • The Showcase Saturday
  • The April Meeting
    • April Meeting Day One
    • April Meeting Day Two
  • The International Meeting
    • International Friday
    • International Saturday

Race Types

  • Amateur Races
  • Championship Races
  • Conditions Races
  • Cross Country Races
  • Cup Races
  • Fillies' Races
  • Grade 1 Races
  • Grade 2 Races
  • Grade 3 Races
  • Handicap Races
  • Hurdle Races
  • Juvenile Races
  • Listed Races
  • Maiden Races
  • Mares' Races
  • Novices' Races
  • Premier Handicap Races
  • Standard Open Flat Races
  • Steeplechase Races
  • Trial Races
  • Trophy Races
  • Discontinued Races

Latest News

  • Aintree & Cheltenham Amongst Jockey Club Courses To Drop Dress Code
  • What Can Be Done To Combat Race Fixing In Horse Racing?
  • Jockeys Are Struggling With The New Whip Rules
  • Cheltenham Festival Trials Day Likely To Go Ahead As Temperatures Rise This Week
  • BHA Whips Rules Changed At The Last Minute Following A Jockey Backlash

Articles

  • Who Are The BHA?
  • Origins Of Steeplechasing
  • Is Horse Racing Too Traditional? Why Is It So Confusing?
  • Robot Horse Racing
  • Are There More Fatalities On Hard Ground In Horse Racing?
  • Types Of Jump Racing Fences
  • Biggest Comebacks In Horse Racing
  • Difference Between A Hurdle & A Fence In Jump Racing
  • What Are Hurdles & Fences Made From?
  • Why Are Race Distances Measured In Miles, Furlongs & Yards
  • Stag And Hen Do's At Cheltenham
  • Each-Way vs Place Betting: Which Is Better?
  • What Are Final Declarations
  • Does Illegal Horse Racing Still Happen?
  • What Is Pony Racing? How Is It Different To Horse Racing?
  • Ladies At The Races
  • What Do Nose, Head, Neck and Length Mean?
  • What Is A Furlong?
  • When Is A Race Declared Void?
  • False Starts In Horse Racing
  • What Are Official Ratings in Horse Racing?
  • Can You Run A Race With Only One Horse?
  • What Is Point To Point Racing
  • Best Day Of The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Train a Racehorse?
  • Cheltenham Festival Ticket Types
  • How Much Does Racing Make From The Betting Levy?
  • Are There Less Horse Deaths In Racing Today?
  • Origins Of Jockey Silks In Horse Racing & Rules
  • Can A Jockey Remount A Horse?
  • What Happens If No Horse Wins A Race?
  • Why Do Horses Jump Fences?
  • How High and Far Can A Horse Jump?
  • Use Of The Whip In Horse Racing
  • What Are The Different Types Of Racehorses?
  • Who Sponsors Cheltenham Races
  • How Do Racehorse Owner Syndicates Work?
  • How Much Do Racehorses Weigh?
  • How Does Travelling Affect Racehorse Performance?
  • What PPE Do Jockeys Wear And Why?
  • Can Racehorses Overheat?
  • Benefits Of Owning Race Horses
  • What Is The Top Speed Of A Racehorse?
  • Do Racehorses Have Special Diets & Nutrition?
  • How Are Racehorses Transported & What Are The Rules
  • What Happened To All-Weather Jumps Racing?
  • What Was Tic Tac? The Sign Language For On-Course Bookmakers
  • The Road To Cheltenham
  • Retraining of Racehorses
  • What Happens To Retired Racehorses?
  • Horse Racing Mix-Ups
  • Youngest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • What Are Blinkers & Why Do Race Horses Wear Them?
  • How Long Do You Have To Claim A Winning Bet At A Racecourse?
  • Female Jockey Pioneers
  • Oldest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Record Jockey Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Record Trainer Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Races Record Horse Wins
  • Biggest Prize Money Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • The Life Of A Racing Jockey
  • Races With The Most Fences At The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Often Do Mares' Win At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Average Winner Age Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Longest Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Newest Races
  • How Often Does the Favourite Win at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Average Winner Odds Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Stats & Trends
  • Veganism & Horse Racing
  • Horse Doping In Horse Racing
  • Most Feared Fences In Horse Racing
  • Jockey Injuries
  • How To Become A Jockey
  • Horse Injuries
  • What Is Going In Horse Racing
  • Richest Races In Horse Racing
  • What Is The Starting Price In Racing
  • When Is The Best Time To Bet Ante-Post
  • Impact Of Wetter Winters On UK Jump Racing
  • How Long Do Racehorses Live For?
  • How Much Do Jockeys Weigh?
  • Rules For Naming Race Horses
  • What Is A Dead Heat In Horse Racing?
  • Who Would Win A Race Between A Horse And A Dog?
  • What Makes A Good Jump Stayer?
  • What Is A Stewards Enquiry?
  • Why Are Horses Disqualified and Who Decides?
  • Courses At Cheltenham: Old, New and Cross Country
  • How Are Jump Horses Trained Differently To Flat Horses?
  • Longest Odds Winners In Horse Racing History
  • How Much Money Is Bet At Cheltenham?
  • How Much Is Cheltenham Worth To The Economy?
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Owners
  • Accessibility At Cheltenham The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Oldest Race Still Running
  • Biggest Female Trainers
  • Celebrity Race Horse Owners
  • Can Jockeys, Trainers & Owners Bet?
  • British vs Irish Trainers And Stables At Cheltenham
  • Things To Do & Places To Visit In Cheltenham
  • The Royal Family And The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Be An On-Course Bookmaker?
  • How Much Money Do Race Horse Owners Make?
  • How Much Money Do Trainers Make?
  • Cheltenham Race Types
  • Cheltenham Hotels & Cheltenham Festival Accommodation
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Trainers
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
  • Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Horses
  • How Much Money Do Jockeys Make?
  • Richest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Getting To Cheltenham Racecourse
  • Cheltenham Festival vs Grand National, Which Is Better?
  • Cheltenham Racecourse History
  • Why Is The Cheltenham Festival So Big?
  • Cheltenham Festival History
  • The Prestbury Cup
  • Cheltenham Festival Quiz
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Jockey
  • Cheltenham Racecourse During The War
  • Ante-Post Betting - Risk vs Reward
  • Jump Racing Distances
  • How to Read a Race Card
  • How To Bet On Horse Racing
  • Disqualification, Non-Runners and Rule 4
  • Age, Sex and Weight in Horse Racing
  • History And About National Hunt Racing
  • A-Z Glossary Of Horse Racing Terms
  • Horse Racing News, Statistics & Blogs
  • Live Streaming of Horse Racing
  • Live Betting In Play On Horse Racing
  • Cash Out And Partial Cash Out On Horse Racing
  • Grades and Classes In National Hunt Jump Racing

Offers

  • Acca Offers For Horse Racing
  • Extra Places Each-Way & Enhanced Each Way Terms Cheltenham Festival 2023
  • Horse Racing Loyalty Free Bet Clubs
  • Horse Racing Money Back
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For The Cheltenham Festival
  • Tote and Totepool Betting
  • Lucky Bets and Bonuses For Horse Racing
  • Non-Runner No Bet
  • Free Bets And Bonuses For Winners
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For Horse Racing
  • Faller & Fail To Finish Insurance For Horse Racing

Copyright © 2023 CheltenhamBettingOffers.com | 18+ Gamble Aware | Privacy & Cookie Policy