Should we ban the grand national due to animal cruelty?

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The owners may know the risks, but the horses don't have a choice in the matter.
To answer OP's question, I'm in two minds about this. I think the racing tracks should atleast be made easier, with less jumps, and lower fences etc. Also - I'd like to see the training hours for the horses regulated and monitored more closely. It's so sad to see such beautiful creatures killed.

The horse wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for horse racing...

Reply 41

EggmanD

The grand national is the most boring and out dated event of the year, watching some horses run around a track is not fun, its not hard to ride a horse and someone should invent a real life Mario Kart or FF10 Blitzball or something else exciting. I hope it gets banned (despite my immediate thumbs up after reading a daily mail article which makes me want to legalise involuntary euthanasia) on the premise that it is ****ing lame, just like fox hunting.

trot about on a horse, with some dogs, looking for some foxes.... watching a man, ride an animal, around a track, and putting a pound on it.. this is 2011 ffs!

The horses should at least be robotic is all im saying.

Oh and on the topic of 'animal cruelty' ..if you propose banning this event because of the accidental death of animals (animals that had a good life being fed well and looked after by people who wanted them to succeed in a race they were born and bred to run in) then i would assume your going to organise a few terrorist attacks on farms, fast food chains and testing labs and crucify anyone who has ever harmed an animal intentionally?.. Most people here only care because the media told them to.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 42

ish90an

We should ban hippies tbh. You might like to preach about starving kids in Africa and caged animals in Vietnam on the guardian website while you are keyboard raging on twitter using your iPhones and Macs and stuffing tofu down your throats, but the rest of us just don't give a ****.

Reply 43

ish90an

Original post by Top Dog

I'm gonna sit on the fence but if a horse didn't want to run, it wouldn't run. Horses can be very stubborn.

Reply 44

beepbeeprichie

Original post by Genocidal

Oh **** off hippie! Every owner and jockey knows full well the risks of the national. Nobody forces them to enter it and yet they choose to anyway.

The horses are forced to into it, dumbass.

Reply 45

yesioo

its not hard to ride a horse

It takes incredible skill to ride at that level.

No it shouldn't be banned. As others have said, the course should be revised.

If you don't agree with it then don't watch it. :shrug:

Reply 46

beepbeeprichie

Original post by ish90an

We should ban those who want to ban hippies.

Reply 47

Arcanine

What horse ****....

No but seriously, the grand national and any other major horse race will never be banned. And besides, it's just a ****ing horse. Worse things happen to humans yet these protesters don't care about that. Bunch of morons. Members of animal rights groups and anyone who thinks it should be banned is a deluded, naive ******* who needs to shut the **** up about horses when humans are treated worse in other countries.

Edit: To anyone saying the course should be revised, why? I'd rather see the horses and jockeys trying to jump monumental jumps.
And to the people who are against horse racing or the grand national, do you eat meat? If yes, are you kidding me?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 48

blahhh

It needs serious reviewing...for a start, the number of horses/ length of the race/ height and angle of jumps

That one horse was so trampled into the ground it doesn't surprise me that it was already dead before the vets got there. What a horrific way to die.

To anyone saying 'its like eating meat' or whatever...no its not...they don't trample a cow under 40 horses and then shoot it for you to eat :rolleyes:

Reply 49

insignificant

I think perhaps they should reduce the amount of horses participating to make only the best and most experienced allowed. Or also make the course wider. Basically just stop it from being so crowded.

Reply 50

hobo06

I had a £5 either way bet on Dooneys Gate, would have got over £400 if he won...**** I feel kind of bad now...

Santa' Son, I had £1 on to win, leading most of the way I thought I was still going to get £100, but it wasn't to be :sad:

Reply 51

Tabers

It did make me feel weird when watching it and seeing the horses covered or surrounded by tarpaulin. That creeped me out. I remember seeing that the fences were higher than most so maybe that should be looked at. I think that maybe some work should be done to make it a little safer. However, this could happen at any race I would think.

Reply 52

Mad Cat Lady

Is it just me who finds it a little sick that humans breed animals in order to use them for food or to race them, and if they break a leg and are unable to race anymore they just kill them?

It's like using them how you would use some kind of utensil, like life is completely disposable...

I think horse racing should be continued, purely because the animals do get a good life, BUT, I think the dangerous jumps should be removed (not just for the horses sake, jockeys get trampled to death when they fall off too) and I would like to open a sanctuary for injured racehorses, just to give them a second chance... :smile:

Reply 53

34253

Original post by yesioo

It takes incredible skill to ride at that level.

No it shouldn't be banned. As others have said, the course should be revised.

If you don't agree with it then don't watch it. :shrug:

If you revise the course i.e. make the fences lower then it's like almost all the other races of the year. The reason this is a big one is because it has the highest fences, and is the most difficult. Horses always race an Aintree, the only differences is the jumps.

Reply 54

34253

Original post by insignificant

I think perhaps they should reduce the amount of horses participating to make only the best and most experienced allowed. Or also make the course wider. Basically just stop it from being so crowded.

This would be quite a good solution.

Reply 55

The Patriot

I'm a bit late on this, but in a word...

YES!

Reply 56

The Patriot

Original post by Arcanine

What horse ****....

Very funny. Round of applause.

Original post by Arcanine

No but seriously, the grand national and any other major horse race will never be banned. And besides, it's just a ****ing horse. Worse things happen to humans yet these protesters don't care about that. Bunch of morons. Members of animal rights groups and anyone who thinks it should be banned is a deluded, naive ******* who needs to shut the **** up about horses when humans are treated worse in other countries.

"it's just a ****ing horse" --> so horses don't matter? Of course they do. We have a responsibility to treat animals fairly. You're a speciesist to the worst level.

"yet these protesters don't care about that. Bunch of morons." --> yes we do. Just because one bad thing happens somewhere, we should forget about all the other wrongs in the world? Of course I care about poverty and disease etc, but animal rights is important too and something I feel passionate about. The animal rights movement is under-represented and so I lend myself to it.

Original post by Arcanine

Edit: To anyone saying the course should be revised, why? I'd rather see the horses and jockeys trying to jump monumental jumps.

I'd rather see the horses and jockeys trying to jump monumental jumps. --> Why? Just so more animals can suffer horrible painful deaths (as well as severe injury to the jockeys) in the name of so called "entertainment". It's a sport for aristocrats who own the horses, and pathetic drunken chavs who bet on it hoping for a quick buck and a chance to get drunk.

Original post by Arcanine

And to the people who are against horse racing or the grand national, do you eat meat? If yes, are you kidding me?

I'm becoming a vegan.

Reply 57

username457532

Have any of you ever ridden a horse? Because they love galloping at incredible speeds and they love jumping fencing. And if they didn't there'd be nothing you could do about it. Would you want to die doing something you loved or just grow old without taking any risks. I know what I'd rather do...

Reply 58

Pindar

Original post by lazy smurf

Completely different situation.

Humans take over the world, horses die out, humans breed horses, horses get treated like kings.

Treated like kings? :lol:

Don't make me laugh. By being ridden on and degraded for human's enjoyment and amusement? Raced around a track whilst being whipped and being forced to jump over fences until they die of exhaustion or get trampled upon? Getting attacked in riots :rolleyes:

Yes, I bet they love that. I bet they love having a human on their back whipping them and telling them what to do, getting their face pulled in this way and that direction :rolleyes: