Kia Ireland is being urged to stop supporting horse racing after seven horses used at the Listowel Harvest Festival were later confirmed dead.
Kia's connection to the event was confirmed in a Listowel Racecourse statement on Facebook - "We are delighted to be continuing our long and successful partnership with [Kia dealer] McElligots Tralee and Kia Ireland for Ladies Day 2023."
In an appeal to Kia Ireland to end its support for horse racing, we told the company that seven horses have been confirmed dead following the Listowel racing festival.
Horse Racing Ireland revealed the identities of the seven dead horses:
One was used on Day 4 of the festival (20 September 2023)
• 9-year-old Pairc Na Ngael who was pulled up in the “Devon Inn Hotel Handicap Hurdle” race.
Three were used on Day 6 (22 September)
• 5-year-old Spring Street who suffered a fall in the “Guinness Handicap Hurdle (Div II)” race
• 10-year-old Nelly’s Money who suffered a fall in a race
• 6-year-old So Original who “weakened” and was pulled up in a race (after a 504 days break)
Three were used on the final day (23 September)
• 6-year-old Maughold Head who fell in a race
• 5-year-old Aide De Camp who was brought down in the same race
• 7-year-old Holiday In Kerry who finished a race lame
They are the latest horses to have lost their lives during or following race meetings at Listowel racecourse. Four horses last used at the September 2022 Listowel racing festival and four last used at the 2021 festival were previously confirmed dead.
During the September 2023 festival, several other horses suffered falls or were pulled up during races. Others were found to have burst blood vessels, with blood at their nostrils during and after races.
It was also brought to Kia Ireland's attention that at racecourses around Ireland in the past decade, over 1,000 horses have been killed, including 107 last year. Horse Racing Ireland figures, obtained via Dail Questions, show that from 2012 to the end of 2022, 1,060 horses have lost their lives at racecourses. The method of killing was either lethal injection or a bullet in the head.
The death 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. Since 2016, at least 14,474 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at “Department-approved slaughter facilities” in Ireland.
ACTION ALERT
Join us in urging Kia Ireland to show compassion and stop supporting horse racing.
Email: support@kiaireland.ie; ie@kiacharge.com
X: @kia_ireland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiamotorsireland/
Contact McElligots Kia dealer in Tralee
Tel: +353 66 718 1911
Email: info@mce.ie
Why you should say NO to horse racing – download and distribute the leaflet https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/08/05/new-leaflet-why-you-should-say-no-to-horse-racing/
Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports
SEE ALSO
7 horses dead following 2023 Listowel racing festival
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/09/30/3-horses-dead-following-listowel-racing-festival/
4 horses DEAD following 2022 Listowel racing festival
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/10/08/4-horses-dead-following-listowel-racing-festival/
2021 Listowel racing festival: 4 horses confirmed dead
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/01/06/listowel-racing-festival-4-horses-confirmed-dead/
Watch the BBC Panorama documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing”
https://youtu.be/VlpQhJFd5Bo
Find out more about race horse deaths at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2021/08/19/horses-confirmed-dead-following-races-at-irish-racecourses/