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RSPCA step into row over Mirror photographs of Wigmore Hall death RSPCA step into row over Mirror photographs of Wigmore Hall death
(about 14 hours later)
The sport of racing received support from the RSPCAon Saturday after the Daily Mirror chose to lead its front page on Saturday with a picture of a vet pointing a gun at the forehead of an injured racehorse. The story continued on pages four and five with what the newspaper described as “the great horse racing debate” but David Muir, the RSPCA’s equine consultant, suggested there was no case for the sport to answer. The sport of racing received support from the RSPCA after the Daily Mirror chose to lead its front page on Saturday with a picture of a vet pointing a gun at the forehead of an injured racehorse. The story continued on pages four and five with what the newspaper described as “the great horse racing debate” but David Muir, the RSPCA’s equine consultant, suggested there was no case for the sport to answer.
“I can’t see that the vet has done anything wrong, or the racecourse either,” Muir said of the pictures, which showed an incident at Doncaster the previous Saturday when Wigmore Hall was put down after shattering a bone in a leg in mid-race. “Shooting a horse is probably the most humane and quick way that you could put him down,” Muir said.“I can’t see that the vet has done anything wrong, or the racecourse either,” Muir said of the pictures, which showed an incident at Doncaster the previous Saturday when Wigmore Hall was put down after shattering a bone in a leg in mid-race. “Shooting a horse is probably the most humane and quick way that you could put him down,” Muir said.
“I’ve been in racing for 18 years and we’ve looked at different methods. Shooting is quick, it’s decisive, it’s humane. In the circumstances where a horse has suffered a catastrophic injury, what would worry me more would be the delay involved in splinting the leg, taking the horse away and putting him down somewhere else after the horse has been suffering all that time.“I’ve been in racing for 18 years and we’ve looked at different methods. Shooting is quick, it’s decisive, it’s humane. In the circumstances where a horse has suffered a catastrophic injury, what would worry me more would be the delay involved in splinting the leg, taking the horse away and putting him down somewhere else after the horse has been suffering all that time.
“I think people realise that horses are put down. I don’t think people want to see it. If a horse is suffering and has to be put down, the vet makes that decision and I can’t see that the guy’s done anything wrong. It isn’t a nice thing to see. If a national newspaper thinks that’s what its readers want to see, that’s up to them. It must have been a slow news day.”“I think people realise that horses are put down. I don’t think people want to see it. If a horse is suffering and has to be put down, the vet makes that decision and I can’t see that the guy’s done anything wrong. It isn’t a nice thing to see. If a national newspaper thinks that’s what its readers want to see, that’s up to them. It must have been a slow news day.”
The pictures of Wigmore Hall, showing him before and after being shot, were passed to the Mirror by the animal rights group Animal Aid. Green screens had been erected between the horse and the grandstand as he was put down but the unidentified photographer was on the other side, of the horse with an unimpeded view.The pictures of Wigmore Hall, showing him before and after being shot, were passed to the Mirror by the animal rights group Animal Aid. Green screens had been erected between the horse and the grandstand as he was put down but the unidentified photographer was on the other side, of the horse with an unimpeded view.
“They could have waited for a second lot of screens to arrive so that they could put screens all the way around him,” Muir said, “but all that would have done is make the horse’s suffering worse. And the person who sneaks around the back with a camera could have been an issue itself. He could have distracted the vet.“They could have waited for a second lot of screens to arrive so that they could put screens all the way around him,” Muir said, “but all that would have done is make the horse’s suffering worse. And the person who sneaks around the back with a camera could have been an issue itself. He could have distracted the vet.
“Racing is a legitimate enterprise, run under strict rules, answerable to Defra [the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs] and the welfare agencies. People have an opinion about it but I keep out of that and focus on the welfare aspect. Someone’s said in that piece that there have been fewer deaths in recent years. That’s because of the good work between racing and the welfare agencies and that’s what to concentrate on.”“Racing is a legitimate enterprise, run under strict rules, answerable to Defra [the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs] and the welfare agencies. People have an opinion about it but I keep out of that and focus on the welfare aspect. Someone’s said in that piece that there have been fewer deaths in recent years. That’s because of the good work between racing and the welfare agencies and that’s what to concentrate on.”
The British Horseracing Authority said it was “appalled” at the Mirror decision to publish the pictures and said it could see no public interest in them. Racing professionals expressed similar views through social media.The British Horseracing Authority said it was “appalled” at the Mirror decision to publish the pictures and said it could see no public interest in them. Racing professionals expressed similar views through social media.
Lloyd Embley, editor in chief of the Daily Mirror, defended the decision to publish, which he said followed “an extensive debate” within the paper. “The intention was to be as balanced as possible. In fact, two of the three opinion pieces we carried were in defence of horse racing,” Embley added.Lloyd Embley, editor in chief of the Daily Mirror, defended the decision to publish, which he said followed “an extensive debate” within the paper. “The intention was to be as balanced as possible. In fact, two of the three opinion pieces we carried were in defence of horse racing,” Embley added.
“The Mirror has a long association with the sport and that position will not change. Nevertheless, there is clearly some debate about the issue and more than one opinion. While we have received criticism from some quarters, we have had a significant number of people supporting the decision to publish.”“The Mirror has a long association with the sport and that position will not change. Nevertheless, there is clearly some debate about the issue and more than one opinion. While we have received criticism from some quarters, we have had a significant number of people supporting the decision to publish.”
The main action on the track on Saturday concerned the Ayr Gold Cup, won by the well-backed 10-1 shot Louis The Pious. That completed a treble on the day for the jockey James Doyle, who also won the Silver Cup on Huntsmans Close.The main action on the track on Saturday concerned the Ayr Gold Cup, won by the well-backed 10-1 shot Louis The Pious. That completed a treble on the day for the jockey James Doyle, who also won the Silver Cup on Huntsmans Close.