I am not a member of PETA. I am a member of the SPCA. I do not consider myself on any type of “lunatic fringe” when it comes to animal rights.
I anti-hunting. I am ant-fur. I am anti-any activity that takes advantage of our position on the food chain and animal kingdom hierarchy to inflict pain on species below us in the name of gratuitous entertainment even if that entertainment has been made socially acceptable through the passage of centuries.
I also admit that I am a hypocrite. I have no idea how many animals have been sacrificed for my clothes, furniture and whatever other possessions I own. It is not that I don’t care. I just never asked… There is a threshold to which I simply wish to fit in and take the path of least resistance. Hypocrisy at its best….
That being said, whenever I see tragdies such as that which took place at today’s Kentucky Derby and the putting down of Barbaro not to long ago, it puts my hypocrisy right in my face. Two beautiful animals put down for no other reason than they were no longer able to entertain us…. We intentionally inflict suffering and kill when they suffer to much….. It reminds me that in some ways we have not advanced much since the days of the Roman Hoards where gladiators and animals slaughtered each other in the Roman Colosseum. If you survived you were put out to stud. If you were unlucky enough to be injured both animal and gladiator were put down. The choices were limited… The Romans had the right idea. At least the Roman Gladiators had the ability to think and fight back….
What would happen without horse racing or all other sporting events where animals are put through unnatural acts? Would cities crumble? Would societies collapse? Governments disintegrate? Cats and dogs sleeping in the streets together?
Maybe life would just go on with us as human species being a little less cruel………
I am not making any judgments. Thousands of years of societal acceptance has told us this type of behavior is acceptable. Is that enough for me? I really don’t know.’I just objectively don’t get the overall human collective ability to turn our heads(including mine) to animal suffering or the significant potential of animal suffering in the name of gratuitous entertainment and nothing more.
Someone please explain it to me….
UPDATE 5/5/2008: Peta Requests That Eight Belles Jockey Be Suspended.
Warning: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC DISTURBING IMAGES!
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May 4th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Brian,
Today is a sad day indeed in the animal world. If I may quote a news story from today’s racing tragedy:
“Eight Belles crossed the finish line second in the Kentucky Derby today and then jockey Gabriel Saez heard the worst sound possible – a pop.
Saez said the filly did not take a bad step, but he heard the pop and tried to pull her up.
“I tried to get her to stop,” he said. “I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t stop.”
Dr. Larry Bramlege the on-call veterinarian from the American Association of Equine Practitioners said the filly had a condylar fractures of both front legs. That is the same type of break that was suffered by 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro in one leg. She was euthanized on the track.”
This just makes me sick. A brilliant horse that just kept going even after two broken legs. I don’t know what the answer is here…but what a waste of a life. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:19 am
That was horribly sad today. I was watching the race, astounded by how much of a lead Big Brown had over Eight Belles and then when i saw the horse laying down I immediatly thought “this is not good”. I do admit it was sad when I heard that they put Eight Belles down on the track, it seems just horrid that it happened like that.
There was another thing that happened which I have to comment on and it was when I was watching the presentation of the trophy to the owner(s) that one of them related the win today of his horse to the birth of his children…honestly how can the two compare!
May 4th, 2008 at 3:42 am
I watched the Kentucky Derby, like I do every year. The horrific nature of the sport really became reality when Eight Belles dropped and was euthanized a minute later.
How does a beautiful two year animal get both front legs broken RUNNING around a track less than 2 miles long??? What the hell are we doing to these horses?
May 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I commend PETA in it’s early days, it raised awareness and did a lot of good. It’s only quite recently that they’ve taken to doing outlandish things like hooking up with celebrities to endorse animal rights. Without PETA there would not have been any recognition of certain things we hold evident today, such as animals feeling pain and acknowledgement that animals are being horribly mistreated around the world.
I think it’s time to put down the rhetoric and give them their credit for doing that. I refuse to jump on the bandwagon of bashing PETA just because Penn and Teller did a half-assed expose on them (ripe with errors and biases). But with that said, I do think that their recent decisions have shown a lack of management and commitment – and as a result I do not consider myself a supporter of PETA.
I like the ASPCA but they’re not vigilante enough, they let far too many assholes get by. Anyways, I think using animals for sport, entertainment, or research and clothing should be illegal. I’m not against meat, but I do think that it needs to be heavily regulated and controlled – certain living standards need to be kept and the quantity of meat being consumed at least in America does not make it possible to give them equitable or even liveable conditions. I’m a vegan btw, I hold no hatred for those who eat meat – however I believe you should eat it in moderation – most people have no restraint and out of a fear of having to give it up choose to just ignore the problem of animal abuse all in all.
Anyways, onething that is most frightening is the case of fishing and hunting, alot of wilderness preservation groups are funded and run by hunting organizations that seek to clean up and preserve such environments only so that they can hunt and kill the animals themselves. That’s absolutely disgusting, “save the forest-so I can destroy it” type mentality. Horse Racing is cruel, because the rampant abuse involving steroids to better the horse’s performance as well as the brutality involved in rearing and grooming these animals to conform to racing guidelines. There is no need for horse racing, we have car racing and computers – surely we could use computers to rig up some sort of simulation to simulate this if need be.
The biggest thing that I think needs to be changed is the banning of animal testing and research. I will NEVER donate to Cancer Research, they get lots of money and on top of all that they do the most sadistic disgusting things to the animals – vivisections (that’s dissecting an animal while it’s still alive without any drugs so it’s fully concious). I’d rather die of Cancer, then no that a cure or treatment came at such a price.
Shame on people for not researching the effects of what they think to be charity, and further shame on those who are willing to pay this price to save themselves.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
My Uncle was a horse veterinarian and would be sickened by what happened this weekend at the Derby!! SHAME ON THEM!! Take your BIG, UGLY fat ass hats and try running around the track. I believe in KARMA!!!!! Bless Eight Belles
May 5th, 2008 at 1:15 am
It is obvious that both the writer of this article and many of the people leaving comments know nothing about horses.
If a horse has a broken leg (let alone two) no matter how gallant the horse is not going to be able to run an will go down. As you can see if the video clip, Eight Belle’s legs break just a moment before she falls. She did not run on broken legs.
The reason she was put down immediately is because there is no coming back from 2 broken legs for a horse. This was the kindest thing to do. It’s very difficult for a horse to recover from one broken leg, but two is not possible. These are 1200 pound animals. They need all four feet, sound, to be able to stand and walk and run. Often time with horses who are recovering from a broken leg will compensate by shifting weight from the injured leg to the diagonal leg. This excess weight on the completely healthy leg often times causes the healthy leg to deteriorate. I believe this is what happened with Barbaro.
While I do agree that there is a serious problem racing horses at 2 and 3 years old (and as all Thoroughbreds turn “a year older” on January 1st, some of these 2 year olds aren’t even 2 yet) are two young to be raced, in this specific case, I suspect this was just a freak accident.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:45 am
@Katie: Everyone wants to so badly to defend the specific situation as a freak accident instead of addressing the actual issue I wrote about which is whether horse racing is morally acceptable regardless…. I don’t think anyone has to be an expert on horses to discuss that issue….
May 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I am also so sick and tired of people talking about how humanely Eight Belles was treated AFTER she was abused…..
To Katie; Can I stop by your place tomorrow then follow you around all day beating you with a leather whip so you will move faster?
May 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Well done, Brian for a literate and well organized post about the unnecessary cruelty in horse racing. The biggest cruelty (IMHO) is breeding horses that can’t even support their own weight, let alone that of a rider. Then, after their racing careers, they are usually killed. Even Ferdinand, winner of the 1986 Kentucky Derby, was sent to a slaughterhouse.
Thoroughbreds bones do not mature until they are 5. So no wonder they snap like twigs when they are 2 or 3 or 4 (the time when Thoroughbreds race). This was not a freak accident. This happens every day at racetracks around the world. Thanks for taking the time to read this post.
Rena Sherwoods last blog post..When Wishes Are Horses
May 5th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
@brian
read my post – I don’t support horse racing, so I don’t think “everyone” is trying to defend it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
I COMPLETELY relate to your posts. I am a member or was of PETA and am a member of the ASPCA. I am anti-hunting and find myself smiling when I hear a hunter getting shot, does that make me horrible?? I’m anti-fur and a vegitarian. I too sometimes feel like a hypocrite because of my clothing and handbags, but always manage to find a way to justify it in my mind, but am working on that. I also feel torn because I love horses, particularly Thoroughbred horses. I think they are such amazing and beautiful animals. I also think they are the greatest athletes on the planet and put Michael Jordan’s abilities to shame. I’ve always loved horse racing but felt torn, because horses were being whipped and raced for money with the risk of injury or death. I still watched racing, because I was so in awe every time I saw a race. The Eight Belles tragedy completely changed that for me. I started researching horse racing and learned that Thorougbred horses are more prone to injuries today because of inbreeding. Breeders want a horse that is not only fast but extremely muscular. The end result is that they are breeding horses that are too muscular and large for their small ankles and legs. Horse racing is a dirty and corrupt sport and I do not feel anything will change until we stop watching and supporting the sport. So so sad….
February 5th, 2009 at 7:15 am
completely ignorant post. misguided emotional dribble. not sure what you hope to accomplish by blindly badmouthing an entire industry, which you clearly haven't bothered to research, but I can say without doubt that your energy, emotion and talent could be put to better use.
instead of bitching about things that you don't understand, try contributing something positive to society.
your reckless, emotional ranting gives bloggers everywhere a bad name.
get off your high horse (no pun intended)
shame on you.
May 17th, 2009 at 2:31 am
I couldn't help but notice that the rant by JP offered no intelligent information to the discussion, Nothing more than name-calling and immaturity.