L’ANCRESSE racecourse is not safe to stage today’s big race meeting, claims an animal rights protester. The Guernseyman who last week left strewn across the common hundreds of leaflets showing a horse with a broken leg has broken his silence to speak to the Guernsey Press.
He managed to obtain UK-based Animal Aid leaflets claiming that about 375 horses die as a result of racing in the UK every year and confirmed he has links with the organisation.
‘A concerned mother saw a leaflet and thought it was distressing to her child and took it to the police. The police have asked me if I’m organising anything for Monday and I told them of course not,’ he said.
He insisted he was not planning a demonstration.
‘It’s not to say other people have not taken up the banner,’ he said.
‘The whole protest ‘last week’ was of a peaceful nature.’
He said he was not against racing - just against doing it at this level with gambling and English horses.
‘My main issue is that the track is not safe for the horse racing. It might be good enough for a few Guernsey and Jersey horses but it is not good enough for some of these quality UK horses. It is not up to a standard to suit them.’
He said he had checked the course and there was a patch near the third tee which was as hard as concrete.
‘It’s only a small area on the straight and I would not like to fall there if I was a jockey. They’d better do something quickly because the race is on Monday,’ he warned at the weekend.
‘The Ladies’ Bay corner is still not safe because there is a fairly sharp bend and a dip in the ground and a horse would notice that,’ he said.
The 46-year-old, who is married with children, did not wish to be named for fear of reprisals to his family from the horse racing community.
He is also concerned that children will see jockeys whipping horses.
‘Even if they are not whipping them, they are urging them on to such an extent that they are putting unnecessary pressure on them to go faster so that they can win,’ he said.
He insisted he was interested only in animal welfare and dismissed any suggestion that he was an animal rights activist.
‘Young children need to be educated about being kind to animals. Animals should not be exploited and just used for entertainment.
‘Some horses race at two years of age and should not be ridden until they are four because their bones are still developing. People who are kind to animals won’t ride them until they are four,’ he said.
‘There are plenty of races in the UK where they have two-year-olds racing which is ridiculous.’
He alleged that the effects of horse racing on a flat track could be profound.
‘Fifty-five per cent of the younger ones suffer from bleeding lungs and the slower ones get put into National Hunt races where they risk injuries to their limbs, neck and back.’
The man’s claims about the safety of the course have been vigorously denied by Guernsey Race Club officials.
* What are your views? Send your comments to Readers’ Letters, The Guernsey Press, PO Box 57, Braye Road, Vale, GY1 3BW or email to newsroom@guernsey-press.com
Article posted on 7th May, 2007 - 12.00am
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