A racecourse vet has called for racing to radically change his relationship with his critics in light of an animal rights violation at Aintree last April that caused a 15-minute delay to the start of the Grand National.
Gemma Pearson, an equine behavioral medicine specialist at the Royal Edinburgh Veterinary School and employed by the Horse Trust, is a race day vet at the Royal Edinburgh Veterinary School, citing fast food chain McDonald’s and zoos as good examples of businesses going with the flow rather than going against it. is on duty. Musselburgh – recently published a paper with three scientists about the narratives surrounding racehorse welfare in the immediate aftermath of the 2023 race.
With the Becher Chase being run on a modified National track on Saturday, Pearson’s article warns that if he doesn’t get his head out of the sand as attitudes change around him, the races could go the way of circus animals or performing orcas.
“I was watching the Grand National,” recalls Pearson, 39, who can see both sides of the argument. “The protesters came and then the comments came; I took my head between my hands.
“They believe they are doing the best thing to race, but they fail to see that they are actually digging a hole by belittling the protesters with words like ‘you don’t know how loved these horses are at home’. the reason they are there.”
This is about changing public attitudes, so human behavior change expert Tamzin Furtado contacted Janet Douglas, the ‘queen’ of social license, and Inga Wolframm, who does research on sustainable riding.
“We debated whether to release something because it was a hot potato,” he says. “I don’t want to upset people and it can be tempting not to do it, but someone has to say it. We are outspoken in some places. We focused on those comments, radio calls, and a few things online. “Not all of it is wrong, but some of it is wrong.”
Social license isn’t something that exists only among horses or has recently become fascinated. This started decades ago in the mining industry. “There is a lot of research on how to lose social license and how to maintain it,” he notes.
“McDonald’s has done a really good job. Animal rights protesters were saying McDonald’s didn’t care about the welfare of the beef that went into its burgers, so they hired independent welfare scientists, looked at slaughterhouse regimes and processing plants, inspected them, and put the results online to provide transparency.
“Instead of saying, ‘No, we’re happy with the way our cattle are slaughtered,’ they said, ‘OK, we’ll get an independent expert to make things better.’
“Racing needs to engage with its critics rather than belittling or belittling them. Listen to what they say. Not just the moderate critics, but even the more extreme critics. Listen to what’s in the public domain, think about it. If you’re living in the bubble of an industry, that’s it for you.” Normally you don’t think about it.
“We also know from the science of human behavior modification that if someone criticizes you, it becomes part of your personal identity and you feel threatened. “It’s not easy, but you have to ask if there’s any truth in what they say.”
‘Horses don’t want to live like kings, they want to live like horses’
Addressing the difference between zoos and circuses, Pearson believes races need to make some decisions. “Circuses can’t use animals anymore, but zoos can. The changes in welfare in zoos have been incredible. They invested in independent wellbeing scientists, got them to measure it, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong, but it does mean you can do better. Zoos have invested time and money to measure welfare and strive to improve.
“The circuses said ‘we are experts, we know what we are doing’ and the public’s trust in them was shaken. Social license is all about trust. If the public trusts you, they will continue to let you self-regulate.
“But if they don’t, they will lobby the government for the law. Trust is very important. You often hear the phrase ‘if we give an inch, they take a mile’; if you are proactive and willing to make changes, the public will no longer be interested in Animal Rising. Being brave is often the way to move forward.
“If people say ‘we’re worried about horses getting injured’ they say that’s a very valid concern, but if you tell them the Jump Racing Risk Model comes into play, we’re invested in that. While the death rate used to be 0.3, it is now 0.2. Use numbers. A one-third reduction in 20 years is a huge difference, but we will continue to reduce it. You’ll never get to zero, but people will trust that you care. You have to walk by walking. You can’t say I will or won’t do something.
“Don’t say, ‘Horses live like kings.’ Horses don’t want to live like kings, they want to live like horses! We know that they want to be ridden in the field with other horses. That’s why we defended Lucinda Russell in the newspaper. Corach went to Kelso after Rambler won and Kelso was asked to take him somewhere else but he said ‘no, he’s in the field with the other horses’.
“We have high rates of cribbing or wind suction in yards. These are stress coping mechanisms. We need to accept that we can improve here. You sound a bit of an idiot when you say that racehorses probably have the best lifespan of all horses because they probably don’t. But to change things, you need to get people to change things.” We know you have to point it in the right direction. Zoos have quietly moved in the right direction. If you say all horses have to live in a field or a barn 24/7, it’s not going to happen.
“I’m passionate about racing. If we do what zoos do, think carefully, solve problems transparently, races will survive. If we do what the circuses do and say we know better, ignore criticism, say they need training, it won’t happen. “If racing stakeholders would think a little more about the principles of social license in what they say and be bold and willing to make change, racing has a truly bright future.”