Over 1,000 horses have been killed at racecourses around Ireland in the past decade, including at least 104 last year. The sickening Horse Racing Ireland statistics came to light following a Dail Question from Paul Murphy TD.

In his 8 December 2022 question, the Solidarity-People Before Profit TD asked for a “breakdown of all horse deaths on Irish racecourses from 2008 to 2021 and to date in 2022”.

The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue replied to say that “HRI has informed my Department that it has no data in relation to horse fatalities for years 2008-2011 inclusive.”

The figures for 2012 to 1st December 2022 show that 1,057 horses have lost their lives at racecourses.

Minister McConalogue did not provide a racecourse breakdown of the figures, instead stating that “HRI has informed my Department that the information sought is held in trust by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board as extracted from commercially sensitive information provided by the racecourses and the clinical vets working for the racecourses.”

Horse Racing Ireland – which has received more than €1.3 billion euros in government grants to-date – previously revealed the method of killing to be either lethal injection or a bullet in the head.

The figures do not include the horses injured at racecourses, taken away and later killed elsewhere or the horses killed behind the scenes because they are not fast enough to win races.

Many more race horses are also killed in slaughterhouses. Shocking stats obtained by Deputy Murphy last year show that between 2016 and 2022, 13,484 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at Department-approved slaughter facilities in Ireland.

The killing of horses has continued into 2023. Horse Racing Ireland has confirmed the deaths of several horses, including French horse Extreme Cacao who fell in a race at Fairyhouse Racecourse on 8 February 2023, 10-year-old horse Dollys Destination who suffered a fall in a race at Leopardstown Racecourse on 5 February, British horse Molly Kaye who struggled and fell at Limerick Racecourse on 31 January, 4-year-old British horse Self Inflicted Sid who fell at Naas Racecourse on 29 January, French horse Intranet who was “pulled up having sustained an injury” in a race at Navan Racecourse on 21 January, 5-year-old Irish horse Great To Get Out who “made no impression” and finished ninth in a race at Dundalk Racecourse on 20 January, 6-year-old Visible Attraction who “raced lazily”, stumbled, weakened and finished last in a race at Punchestown on 16 January, 6-year-old British horse Sea Ducor who “fell heavily” at Fairyhouse Racecourse on 14 January, Irish horse Last Of The Clan who “didn’t jump with fluency” and was pulled up in a race at Naas Racecourse on 8 January, 6-year-old British horse Top Bandit who “fell heavily” and was “fatally injured” at Naas Racecourse on 8 January, 4-year-old Kalahari Diamond who suffered an injury and unseated a rider in a race at Cork Racecourse on 7 January 2023, etc. 

How many more horses have to suffer and die before the Irish Government stops ploughing vast amounts of taxpayers' money into this gambling business.

ACTION ALERT

Don’t attend races or bet on racing.

Demand an end to the government’s massive grants to horse and greyhound racing – more than a €1.6 Billion handed over since 2001, including €91 million for 2023. Contact the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister now.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Tanaiste Micheál Martin TD
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Michael McGrath TD
Minister for Finance
Email: michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/michael.mcgrath.1614
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mmcgrathtd 

Irish Government grants to horse racing

2001 €47,110,330
2002 €54,452,651
2003 €51,348,800
2004 €53,531,200
2005 €54,680,000
2006 €56,047,000
2007 €58,539,000
2008 €61,028,800
2009 €54,502,000
2010 €47,411,200
2011 €45,830,000
2012 €45,032,000
2013 €44,016,000
2014 €43,376,000
2015 €54,400,000
2016 €59,200,000
2017 €64,000,000
2018 €64,000,000
2019 €67,200,000
2020 €67,200,000
2021 €76,800,000
2022 €70,400,000
2023 €72,800,000

TOTAL: €1,312,904,981 (€1.31 Billion)

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000
2022 €17,600,000
2023 €18,200,000

TOTAL: €328,166,146 (€328.1 Million)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Watch the BBC Panorama documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing”
https://youtu.be/VlpQhJFd5Bo

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM

Horse deaths at Irish racecourses

2022: 104 deaths (up to 1 Dec 2022)
2021: 113 deaths
2020: 65 deaths
2019: 102 deaths
2018: 111 deaths
2017: 88 deaths
2016: 83 deaths
2015: 89 deaths
2014: 99 deaths
2013: 121 deaths
2012: 82 deaths

Thoroughbred horses slaughtered in Ireland

2022 (up to May): over 300
2021: 1,105
2020: 1,549
2019: 2,218
2018: 2,526
2017: 2,829
2016: 2,952

Horse deaths at foxhunt-organised point-to-point races

2021/2022: 19 deaths (up to May 2022)
2020/2021: 23 deaths
2019/2020: 13 deaths
2018/2019: 38 deaths
2017/2018: 28 deaths
2016/2017: 32 deaths
2015/2016: 36 deaths
2014/2015: 30 deaths
2013/2014: 42 deaths
2012/2013: 49 deaths