...Advocates of the theory put forward as this article does, pitting man against animal as cruel, advertise their ignorance to history and human/animal coexistence. Man is not “against” the interests of an animal (in this case a horse) when preparing an animal in support of human endeavour: Include in this category, live cattle exports.

...Would you suggest Nicholas, “Black Caviar” is mistreated and is forced to race. No, racing horses are harnessed to race and directed and encouraged to race. In no way could the notion of horse racing be interpreted as cruelty; dangerous yes, cruel no!

How on earth did our civilisation get to the stage where we fund people to produce this garbage. It really is a pity that so many people with so little to do with earning their own food, produce this rubbish at our cost.

Nicholas doesn't even have a clue about his topic, or is producing this muck to ingratiate himself in the animal liberation community.

I wonder if he has even got close to an animal, let alone ridden a horse, milked a cow or goat, or fed a chook. If he has it sure doesn't come across in his article.

Doesn't he realise that horses, dogs cats cattle, & many other species have benefited enormously from their contact with man. They may be ridden, milked or even eaten, but most of them would never have existed if man had not wanted them.

Meanwhile thousands, like me, hang on in properties that are really too big for them to maintain, because we have some ageing mates who need a paddock to live in. Having a stallion around the place is a damn nuisance, but our old boy has helped 2 of my kids grow up, something animals are very good at, & he has a paddock as long as I am around to supply it.

Perhaps Nicholas would do more good by adopting a couple of old race horses, or retired greyhounds, rather than bleating about them.

This is a question of values and nothing to do with benefiting animals. Nicholas wants to force his vegan values on the rest of us.

You are free to be a vegan. We are free not to be vegans. Leave it at that, you control freak.

I love roo burgers $ 4.50 a pak of 4 IGA.

I always thought it funny that our most popular sporting event is one where the 'athletes' don't physically move, and all the work is done by some animal that doesn't get any rewards (let alone gets to shake out a bottle of champagne).

And no, I can't be bothered watching the Cup- another boring "sport".

I agree totally with the comments of DiverDan and Hasbeen. People are mostly extremely fond of and devoted to the welfare of their animals, even the biggest racing trainers. Have you ever, Nicholas, seen an interview with Peter Snowden or Chris Waller? Recently, after having trained the first two horses home in a major Sydney race, Waller had tears in his eyes and his only concern was for the welfare of his third runner, which had fallen late in the race (and was, thankfully, unharmed and has since been retired in very comfortable circumstances). I'm sorry, Nicholas, but if I had an animal I wanted cared for I would give it someone who has dedicated their lifetime to looking after them, not to an animal activist.

If you want to see animals exposed to cruel circumstances, have a look at the natural world. I live in the middle of 230 acres of natural Tasmanian bushland. It is not a cute and fluffy environment, Nicholas, especially when you see a snake consuming a baby rabbit. But it is a beautiful environment nonetheless.

Here we go again, something else to shut down.

You know, a race horses life is not all about horse racing, they also have spell periods, swims, rides on the beach and, if they are fortunate enough, they get to be sirers of other race horses, so life for a race horse also has it's up side. Agree!

Now, if we take away the horse racing, most of these horses would not have even been born, as they were only ever bred to race and nothing else.

So what's next on the hit list.

If only we took this approach to people, bred to work and provide, not to enjoy lif at another's expense.

Silly Hat Day is actually cruel to humans.

Seduces the sweepstake sheep into believing they are an expert nose picker once a year.

And if wasn't so demeaning seeing the Silly Hats stagger around and trip over their high heels into their own vomit it could almost be entertaining.

Otherwise boring as...

Nick you predicate this article primarily on the welfare of horses, what about human beings?

People are animals, we all, except for a tiny proportion of the world's population, serve and are served by both animals and other human beings.

Is it any different for an individual to be raised, educated, employed, retire and then die, the whole time serving the joy and frustrations of their parents through childhood, serve the need of teachers and other educators whilst being educated, serve corporate and individuals through their output as employers and empoyees, the government as taxpayers, provide financial and child minding service to their children and grandchildren in retirement and then die having served a multitude of uses and provided uses during their lifetimes.

I see no difference with you, you serve the University, serve the students in your lectures, you too are being mistreated if your mantra is followed.

By the way, did the lettuce or tomato bush providing you sustenance to continue to breath have any say in whether or not you could eat them. Sentient beings or not, we all serve or are served in too many ways to imagine.

I do not doubt that , generally at least , horse owners treat their horses very well , at least while they are still capable of racing and earning money for the owners . Owners would be stupid if they did not .

I do not know whether owners sell them for pet food after they cease to be profitable . I suppose some do , while others allow their redundant to live out their lives in comfort and producing offspring , which will also be be raced if good enough .

In Britain , foxhunters [ including the royal family ] and , in the USA , deerhunters claim that foxes and deer thoroughly enjoy being hunted and killed . It is all good sport .

The Melbourne Cup is a cruel event for members of the community , particularly those in the workforce , who [ like the majority of the population ] have no interest in racing and who refuse to pretend that they do , just for Melbourne Cup Day . They are ruthlessly pestered to have a bet or buy sweep tickets , and discouraged from working on that day and , in Canberra at least , for several days previously , and criticised as unAustralian if they refuse to participate in the fake excitement .

The Productivity Commmision should be asked to report on the cost of the loss of productivity caused by the Melbourne Cup .

The author's article indeed highlights the flaws of veganism as
as a philosophy.

A great deal of Australian livestock for instance, are outdoors
in the sunshine, grazing pastures, raising their young and enjoying
their lives. They are fed in times of drought, treated for diseases,
vaccinated to avoid others and put down if they are suffering.

It is in farmers interests that they are happy and content. If farmers
did not run them, they would never have enjoyed their lives in the
first place.

Or they could be out in nature. They could die in droughts, get
ripped apart by wild dogs and other predators, die slowly if disease
strikes etc. Hardly a pleasant and peaceful life.

Yes, in the end they are eaten. Just like vegans are eaten when they
die and the worms etc move in. We are all recycled and I don't really
think that animals really care too much, as to who recycles them after
death.

Most livestock also die fairly quickly, mostly totally unaware of
what is about to happen. Unlike people, who are stuck in homes,
suffering to their last breathe, as we watch and wait, dor days,
weeks or months. Livestock treatment is thus more humane then
what people have available to them. Not all of us are lucky enough
to die from a good old heart attack.

Nick, you really need to rethink your philosophy, for its deeply
flawed.

What a load of unadulterated BS contained in the article. Go and study something useful.

David

Hasbeen
"How on earth did our civilisation get to the stage where we fund people to produce this garbage. It really is a pity that so many people with so little to do with earning their own food, produce this rubbish at our cost."

Welcome to the world of Humanities departments, where one's personal moral zealotry is passed off as "knowledge."

Humans are omnivores. We are built to eat both veges and meat. That is a scientific fact based upon out biology particularly our dental structure. Its not a choice. Its our choice to go against our omnivorous nature if we eat only vegetables.

Eating animals is not cruel, it is natural for us.

A number of species could cease to exist if we didn't eat them because being bred for food is what keeps their population numbers up.

I find that there is a balance in life, with anything. Too much of one things is dangerous because it disrupts the way things work. Imagine a builder who only built with wood, and refused to used metal of any kind, how would his house stand strong, what would he use for screws or nails?

Likewise with veganism, or animal rights, or whatever the dilemma may be, there is a point when too far is harmful to society.

That being said, I do agree that we have to care about, and treat animals with love, just like any human relationship. I think unnecessary abuse is rarely justified, but I do think that society in general would benefit from caring more about what really matters, whatever that is.

Neutral, the best thing about the cup is that if you don't like it, simply change the chanel.

That way you can have your way and leave others, who by the way are mostly having a fun time, to go about their one day in the year enjoying what they enjoy.

As always, there are a lot of negative replies when it comes to make people think about animal cruelty. I know them all; we were born as omnivores, men can't live without meat, vegans are extremists, etc. I am always surprised about the negative replies I get when I try to raise animal welfare. Just for the record: I'm not a vegetarian although I have been one at several stages in my life. After having seen videos of the cruel treatment of male calves that are killed within five days of being born because we need their mothers to produce milk and male calves are useless, I have started to cut down dramatically on my dairy intake and I have replaced my beloved huge latte intake with soy lattes. I don't know if I can keep it up, nor do I know if I can resist eating my favourite food, cheese, but I want to give it a try. I have also tried for years to choose for the vegetarian option when eating out, that is provided that option is tasty. So I'm sort of treading the middle ground here.
Honestly, it is no drama to give the way animals are being treated some thought. I'm not opposed to the meat industry as long as I know animals are being treated in a humane way till the end. And that's exactly the problem: when I have a piece of meat on my plate, I have no idea if and how much the animal that had to die for my meal has suffered. And that can be a very uncomfortable feeling.

KeesB has it ever occurred to you that you have fallen for a pile of bulldust propaganda. I would expect that you are regurgitating this propaganda, & that is the reason for the negative responses.

Probably others have their BS detectors tuned to a higher level than you.

My mate the dairy farmer, would never be able to afford to kill useful animals that have a market value. In Fact they mate about half their cows, [well they AI them], to high quality beef bulls. This produces a beast that is no use to the dairy, but one that is very good for the vealer industry.

These are sold to a number of specialists veal farmers, who run a small dairy herd who's milk feed the calves to about 6/8 months. Depending on the season, some may go to 12 months, but the part dairy cow breading makes them produce lower quality beef, so they are not grown further.

Dairy farmers used to do this themselves, but have to work so many more cows to make a living today, they don't have the time. It requires a lot of hand feeding, & care.

My property, which I bought to run the kids horses had been a specialist veal farm before I bought it.

What does it take to get the message to the animal libbers that any injury, bruising, or damage to the hide dramatically reduces the value of an animal, & most farmers treat their stock with more care than many folk do their kids.

This video says it all - and it's also hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKTsWjbjQ8E

I'm not an animal rights activist but I'd like to point out that the majority of people responding to this article (so far) got defensive, offered personal insults to the author, and made arguments that didn't make sense in context of the author's argument. :(

The author's argument was that animals are sentient beings with rights of their own - therefore they shouldn't be used by humans. His argument was more than saying cruelty to animals is wrong...he's saying using animals is morally wrong.

Therefore arguing that racehorses (and somehow it seemed to get on to cattle ;p) are treated well (are they? are his arguments that many are put down when they fail untrue?) doesn't really refute the author's argument.

I would like to hear if anyone can argue morally that racing horses is acceptable and/or right. Just to hear the other side. :)

Are the people who are in favour of racing horses coming from a stance that animals are things rather than "ones" - as the author claims they are? Or are their moral reasons that racing is okay based on a different premise?

I write the above because I've not really considered animal welfare before but I want to keep an open mind, and change my views in life based on what is true, and what is loving. I also want balanced views that work for everyone's good. And doable views! Change can be quite hard...both on the personal and global level...so it makes sense that we would get upset and defensive when confronted with these kind of views.

I'm not saying that means such views are automatically right...just that the emotional reaction many of us have to them might mean we need to look deeper.

Sidenote: (I'd also be interested to hear any factual evidence for suffering of racehorses or whether they are killed when they fail. Or whether they have good retirements as some posters claimed. As to the argument that some animals wouldn't be alive if we didn't breed them for human use..."giving" life doesn't mean one is god over that life. In either human or animal context. It just means one partly enabled a life.)

Sharnii, first I suggest you read my first post on this thread, the second post.

Race horses are expensive to breed, & valuable as brood stock, if any good at their task. When mares & stallions retire from racing, they lead rather luxurious lives, as they must be in peak condition to bread.

I have owned a number of race horses, but have no interest in racing, other than a pony flutter at a pony club.

I have owned both retired race horses, & slow race horses. Slow horses are no use for racing or breeding, & are sold on, often cheaply to the equestrian market, & pleasure riders. Retired geldings are obviously no use to the industry, & are also sold on to the same area.

My son & I were show jumpers. Our horses required a lot of training, & much exercise. They had to be fit & well to compete. If your horse didn't trust you, you could not be successful. My daughter was into dressage. Her horses require years of training, & a really great understanding between horse & rider to be successful.

I have had a couple of horses who could not handle retirement. They were miserable without regular exercise, & contact with their people, but I currently have 2 aging retired horses, something over 20 years, who have not been ridden for years. They come when called, for a brush, or a carrot, & give every impression of being happy, "down the paddock".

I don't think our horses are treated any differently than most others, other than those owned by some ladies. I am sure some ladies I know would have their horses in the house with them, if they could be toilet trained.

A horse meat industry insider recently said that Australia slaughters 50,000-70,000 horses a year for human consumption.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-07-16/butcher-defends-horse-meat-trade/907098

Horses are also slaughtered for pet food. It is hard to trace exactly what proportion of these horses come from the horse racing industry, as race horses ending up slaughtered for human consumption or as pet food is not something that the horse racing industry is proud of. However, it is absolutely clear that some horses from the horse racing industry do make up this figure.

Queensland vet Eva Berriman has said: "But even in the absence of documented figures, the finger must be pointed firmly at the racing industry, which has a very high attrition rate of fine quality, well-muscled horses still in their prime often with no road open to them except to a horsemeat abattoir."

The horse welfare group in Australia, Cedar Springs Horses Inc, attempts to rescue race horses destined for the slaughterhouse to reduce the number of race horses that meet this fete, but they can’t rescue everyone.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/australian-racehorses-for-dinner/2008/02/02/1201801095371.html

The horse racing industry can always pick out individual examples of horses who “retire” and don’t face slaughter, however, this doesn’t change the fact that horse racing and The Melbourne Cup is inseparable from the killing of horses well before they would live to if they were free from the horse racing industry.

Even those who aren’t going to be slaughtered for pet food or for human consumption overseas still face the risk of serious injury during a race, which can lead to them being killed. We’ve all seen the sheet put in front to shield the crowd from seeing the horse being killed right there on the track.

The horse racing industry justifies this by saying there are lots of dangerous sports where athletes face injuries. This is wrong for at least two reasons. First, when a human athlete such as a jockey gets a serious industry, they are not “put down” on the track. Secondly: ‘While jockeys and motorsport racers can provide informed consent for their participation, this cannot logically be claimed for horses.’

http://www.thescavenger.net/animals/horse-racing-the-hidden-cruelty-revealed-708.html

Don't you people manage to talk tripe.

Just one question, would you rather be a Ozzie horse, or a Zebra waiting its turn with the lions or crocks in Africa?