News
Animals Count
8th December 2006
We heard, on the BBC News website, of a new political party being set up called Animals Count. It seems that they want to give animals rights.
So we wrote to them asking about racing. We asked them what was their view on horse racing, particularly National Hunt racing and Point To Point racing. We also asked them whether they had no interest in it or whether they`d try to have it banned or perhaps something in between.
This is the reply that was just received yesterday (7/12/2006).
Dear Malcolm
Thank you for your email. Many of the races involve cruelty at some stage (either in training, during extreme races, or putting too much strain on the animals in general). Hence to start with we want an end to avoidable suffering and introduce more stringent regulations to ensure animals are not exploited beyond their capacities.
The issue of betting is deplorable and encourages pushing animals beyond their limit, which is unethical. We would like to see an end to using animals in so-called sports purely for human entertainment/gain.
There are many different ways people can have a positive interaction with animals or different ways of entertainment (without cruelty).
Recreational horse riding is of a different category.
With kind regards
Jasmijn
Needless to say that this particular political party won't be getting our vote in the future.