(letter in Irish Examiner-May 17th)
 
Profit before welfare
 
The discovery of eleven horses in a dreadful state of neglect at a county Cork property should not only serve as yet another reminder that animal cruelty is widespread in Ireland, but it should also focus our attention on the failure of politicians to address the issue. 
   The fact that a thoroughbred horse previously bought for £240,000 was among the animals discovered points to a culture of profit before welfare in the bloodstock industry.

It is heart-rending to read of horses with their rib cages showing, and standing about in “excrement several feet high.”

Is this any way to treat these gentle creatures that have served humanity for millennia with such resilience and loyalty?

Unfortunately, when a horse’s running days are over, the industry has no further use for it. There have been other cases (some not widely reported) in recent years of unwanted horses, including thoroughbreds, being turned loose.

A similar fate awaits many Irish greyhounds whose careers on the track or coursing field have ended: Shallow graves have been unearthed all over Ireland containing the remains of dogs that were shot or clubbed to death.

Despite the enormous animal welfare problems associated with the racing of dogs and horses, successive governments have seen fit to subsidize these activities. Some €16million of tax payers’ money is granted per annum to the greyhound industry and a colossal €64million a year goes to horse racing. These grants were forthcoming even in the austerity years when State funding to many worthy causes and projects was cut drastically.

Apart from racehorses, horses used for hunting are discarded or euthanised if they under-perform or suffer even the smallest injury.

And the greyhound industry encompasses hare coursing, an intrinsically cruel practice that should have banned decades ago but survives thanks to political patronage.

Neither the greyhound nor horse racing industries deserve a single cent of tax-payers money, but for as long as they are subsidized; I suggest that a substantial percentage of the funding be directed towards caring for the welfare of the dogs and horses and to clamping down big time on animal cruelty.

John Fitzgerald,

Callan,

Co Kilkenny