Another Alert Success! Horse Advocacy Published in DMN LTE

May 11, 2008

Animal Advocacy scores again in Sunday's Dallas Morning News! Vegetarian Network of Dallas' own Jennifer Sellers has a LTE published twice in two days in D/FW dailies. Way to go Jennifer!Special thanks to all who wrote, even if your letter was not printed. The important thing is to write, because it helps other pro-animal letters to be published. Getting animal advocacy into print is how we win in the court of public opinion. MargaretVegetarian Network of Dallashttp://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-3p_derby_0511edi.ART.State.Edition1.45e71ab.htmlSunday letters: The Kentucky Derby 12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, May 11, 2008 Allen Petray, Denison Dirt on the Derby The Associated PressEight Belles was

euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles at the Kentucky Derby on May 3. She had just finished second to Big Brown. For those uninitiated to the sport of kings, the 2008 edition of the Kentucky Derby – er, excuse me, The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands – was not the best place to start. Richard Dutrow Jr., trainer for winner Big Brown, has served multiple-state suspensions for everything from marijuana possession to doping horses. He's also been known to plunk down huge sums of money on his own entries, thus pulling down the odds and penalizing the betting public. Big Brown's giddy ownership group somehow got track permission to let jockey Kent Desmoreaux wear the UPS logo on his race pants. And to top it off, a game filly named Eight Belles ran second, only to break both forelegs in the post-race gallop and had to be euthanized on the track.

For every race fan gained by Big Brown's masterful performance, two fans were lost by an unprecedented invasion of corporate sponsorship, smarmy characters and the death of a beautiful athlete.Allen Petray, Denison PETA misleadingRe: "Briefs – Eight Belles' trainer stands up for jockey," Tuesday SportsDay.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals only speak out when they think they can get on TV or in the newspapers. Eight Belles was not mistreated; she was a pampered horse who had a bad accident. PETA is also wrong about these horses being whipped mercilessly while being ridden – the bat is a tool to urge the horse and there are no beatings with it. PETA is looking for high-profile events to raise money for their organization, so they can keep their pockets full. Julia Truver, Nemo Animal

racing must endThis week we saw yet another tragedy at the racetrack. And yet, Americans love the game, the excitement and the myth.These poor horses are not built to run the speeds they are forced to run. On their own, they will not run hard enough to break a leg. The spindly leg bones holding the 1,000-pound young horses are not through maturing. Yet we force a rider on them and push them beyond their capacities. We pump them with drugs to cover the pain and cheer as if we were good people. We run them for money, for entertainment, for anything that we humans want.When are we truly going to be the superior species we claim to be and quit all the cruelty, all the rationalizing, all the basic garbage we cough up to justify our horse races, our dog races, our rodeos and our brutal factory farms?Jennifer Sellers, Richardson

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