With deeds speaking louder than words, Penn National Gaming has moved to halt the selling of unwanted horses to slaughter dealers
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Chris McErlean, vice president of racing, announced a new policy that will take effect immediately at Penn National’s five wholly owned and operated tracks, including harness tracks Hollywood Raceway in Bangor, ME, and Raceway Park in Toledo, OH, and thoroughbred operations at its home base at Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania, Zia Park in Hobbs, NM, and Charles Town Races in West Virginia.
The new edict reads, “Any horseman stabled at a Penn National Gaming Inc. -owned or -operated horse facility who knowingly, or without conducting due diligence, sells a horse for slaughter, directly or indirectly, will have his or her stalls revoked and may, in addition, be barred from all of our racing properties. Penn National requires that horsemen participating at the company’s racetracks conduct proper due diligence on those buying horses and encourages horsemen participating at Penn National facilities and industry wide to support rescue and adoption efforts and seek humane means of dealing with horses unable to continue racing.”
McErlean said Penn National has a long-term commitment to the humane treatment of animals.
(HTA)
No, letting horses starve
No, letting horses starve and be abused is not what we want to see. But then, the last thing we want to do is send them to slaughter. We owe these horses a better fate.
Let's not kid ourself, there are too many horses out there to all be adopted but this does not mean we don't have a responsiblity to these horses. If a horse is unfit for a post racing career and can't be adopted out, then there is an option besides slaughter; it is called euthanasia.
Yes, I understand it costs money to euthanize a horse versus sending it to an auction to let someone else do the dirty deed in an inhumane way. However, owning a horse, whether a race horse or not is an expensive proposition. If you are are unable or unwilling to do the right thing when a horse is no longer able to perform the job it is meant to do; then you have no business to own a horse. Maybe we need to do something to set up spending accounts which get funded when a horse's eligibility certificate is issued or some other way to allow owners to save for this day (if a horse is sent to an approved adoption agency, the money could be transferred to them for upkeep or kept for a subsequent horse purchase).
Way to go? a good
Way to go?
a good idea?
thats what i want to see more of , is those horses dying of starvation or neglect on youtube because the didnt want to humanely destroy them. Now we can see way more videos. Hooray . So everyone give away them old tired horse to them poor farmers where they can starve to death. SORRY if i dont see it the way most people do ,but slaughter is a necessary evil we have to live with.
Sim Pryjma
Way to go Penn
Way to go Penn National!!!
it's a good idea -- after the horses have given so much to their owners & trainers, it's nice to read that when their time is done they won't necessarily be sent to slaughter.
Marie Stoyles-Moura