Don't send Macau's retired racehorses to Australia

[Guest guest]

>>Mr Ho has refused to comment. But a spokesman for the Macau Government

said

it was making inquiries about exporting retired racehorses to Australia and

New Zealand.

 

Hi,

 

It is not a good idea to send Macau's unwanted racehorses to Australia.

Unwanted horses here are killed, slaughtered and butchered the same

as anywhere else.

There is no Shangri-la for unlimited numbers of

unwanted racehorses on this planet let alone

in Australia.

The fact is the whole horse racing industry should be phased out.

If people still want to bet on something, replace the live horse racing with

virtual reality

horse racing.

There have been reports here in Australia of mares being slaughtered in

front of their foals then the abattoir workers came back from lunch to

finish

off the foal who was shivering in fear.

Please, dont send your retired racehorses to Australia.

This is a very cruel country for unwanted horses and the expense

in the upkeep of the horses

means only wanted pet and viable horses are kept alive.

 

Kind regards,

 

Marguerite (see below)

 

Sunday Morning Post 30th June 2002

by Ella Lee

 

Pressure is mounting on the Macau Government to stop the Jockey Club

shooting too many retired racehorses, after the Sunday Morning Post exposed

the inhumane practice two weeks ago.

 

The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is

seeking a meeting with Macau Chief Executive, Edmund Ho Hau-wah - who is

also the patron of the Macau Jockey Club - to express its concern over poor

animal welfare in the enclave.

 

The Post had earlier reported six to eight retired racehorses at the Macau

Jockey Club were shot on average every Thursday because there were no

facilities to keep them, and their owners did not bother to pay for their

maintenance. The shootings could be seen from the public road next to the

club, which has admitted some of the creatures were " generally healthy " and

could have enjoyed an extended life.

 

About a year ago, Macau changed the killing method from lethal injection to

bullets, which are half the price.

 

The club said that in the past 12 months, 188 ex-racehorse suffering chronic

arthritic conditions had been shot. But on the past two Thursdays, after

the Post reports, no shootings could be seen from the road.

 

Macau Jockey Club sources said the shooting was now done indoors, because

" we do not want any more pictures to be taken " .

 

The RSPCA in Britain said it was very concerned about excessive production

of horses and the disposal of unwanted animals.

 

" We would urge the owners to take responsibility for their horses. If

otherwise healthy horses have come to the end of their racing careers then

ideally they should be rehabilitated and re-homed, " David McDowell, the

RSPCA's equine veterinary officer, said.

 

The Post reported that racehorses in Macau were shot in full view of other

horses.

 

Paul Lilttlefair, the RSPCA's East Asia programme manager, said as a rule no

animal should be slaughtered under conditions of psychological stress or

suffering.

 

" This means that no horse should see another horse being killed. Each horse

should be slaughtered individually, in an enclosed space separated from the

sight and preferably smell of other animals, " Mr Littlefair said.

 

The Macau Racehorse Owners' Association also urged the Macau Jockey Club to

speed up its quarantine protocols with New Zealand and Australia so retired

horses could be sent there. The association will meet next month to discuss

the issue.

 

" We want to ask our members to care more about the welfare of their retired

horses, " association chairman Cheng Ming-leung said.

 

Allan Zeman, Lan Kwai Fong group chairman and a potential investor in Macau,

said the shooting of racehorses in Macau was disturbing and that " something

should be done " .

 

Mr Zeman, who owns two horses at the Hong Kong Jockey Club and is a former

horse owner in Macau, said: " Obviously nobody wants to see those pictures of

horses being shot in the head; it is disturbing. The image is not good for

the city. There must be an easier way to put them to sleep or to find them

a home. I am confident Edmund Ho will do something about it. "

 

Mr Ho has refused to comment. But a spokesman for the Macau Government said

it was making inquiries about exporting retired racehorses to Australia and

New Zealand.

 

*******************

 

Lifeline for retired animals awaits approval as vet attacks SAR [Hong Kong]

rules

by Alex Lo

 

Hong Kong cannot take in retired Macau racehorses to save them from being

put down because health safeguards are not in place, Hong Kong officials

said.

 

But an import protocol was being drafted which might allow Hong Kong to

bring the horses across in future, the Agriculture, Fisheries and

Conservation Department said.

 

The statement followed claims by a senior veterinarian with Macau's

municipal administration, Dr Antonio Galvao, that Hong Kong's refusal to

permit imports was the reason the Macau Jockey Club shot up to 300 retired

or injured racehorses each year.

 

" The drafting of the protocol of the import requirement for horses from

Macau to Hong Kong with the Macau Veterinary Authority is still in

progress, " a department spokeswoman said.

 

" In the past few years, we have maintained close contact with the Macau

Government and the Macau Jockey Club about the movement of horses between

Macau and Hong Kong. "

 

The spokeswoman did not say if there was a deadline for the draft protocol.

She also would not say how hard Macau officials had pressed for one in the

past. The department clears live animal imports into the SAR.

 

The Sunday Morning Post's exclusive report earlier this month on the routine

killing of healthy horses sparked outrage and offers from around the world

to adopt the animals.

 

In an interview with the Portuguese-language daily Ponto Final after the

report, Dr Gamvao claimed Macau had tried for years to send the animals to

Hong Kong, but authorities here refused to accept them.

 

" That means, because of their [Hong Kong's] policy of animal hygiene, it's

the authorities in Hong Kong that sign the death penalty for these horses, "

said the top vet, who also alleged that the Post's reports were part of " a

war " by the Hong Kong Jockey Club against Macau.

 

The Jockey Club in Hong Kong has refused to comment on any aspect of the

issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on Asian animal issues, please use the search feature

on the AAPN website: http://www.aapn.org/ or search the list archives at:

aapn

Please feel free to send any relevant news or comments to the list at

aapn