| INDUSTRY |
OUR CONCERN FOR HORSE WELFARE TAKES A MYRIAD OF FORMS N EW S FR O M THE E M HF Paull Khan
I
n the wake of the now infamous incident in which jockey Davy vy Russell was seen to strike his horse on the head prior to the start of a race, the marked diff fference between ffe the media reaction in Ireland (more forgivi ving) and that in Britain (more vin damning) was commented upon. Just one example of the wi wide variation, as between wid
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European countries, in public opinion on horse welfare, and animal welfare more widely. In some regions, the ‘volume level’ wid wi of discussion of such matters is turned up high; not so in others. In a sport wi with no global Rules book, wit it would be strange if these cultural diff fferences were not refl ffe flected to some fle extent in the practices and regulations of indivi vidual racing authorities. And vid sure enough, they are. Indeed, what a
country’s Rules of Racing says about its culture would make for a fascinating study. One could make a crude start by marking up, on a map of Europe, the number of whip strikes allowed in a race by the various countries. Very broadly, it would resemble a climatic map of the continent, wiitth higher numbers accepted in the hotter south, reducing as one travels north until reaching the point of zero tolerance in Norway.