Covert recordings have shown that rules designed to protect horses from cruel deaths have been regularly ignored by one of the UK’s biggest abattoirs.

The BBC article on the investigation says that some of the slaughtered animals were once owned and trained by some of the biggest trainers in racing.

Some of these horses had previous illustrious racing careers and had won thousands of pounds over the course of their careers.

The abattoir in question told the BBC that it did not condone animal abuse but one expert believes the footage from cameras installed by campaign group Animal Aid are breaches of the regulations that abattoirs must follow.

The majority of horses seen in the footage captured came from Ireland and were young.

BBC Panorama revealed in the article that three racehorses Gordon Elliot had trained in Meath were among the many Irish horses killed at the abattoirs.

The trainer, who is currently suspended after a photo of him on a phone call sitting atop a dead horse was made public, told Panorama that none of the horses were sent to the abattoir by him.

He stated to the BBC that the horses were not under his care when they were killed.

Elliot said to the BBC that two of them were given to a horse dealer to be “rehomed if possible, and if not, to be humanely euthanised” and gave the third horse to another rider as requested by its owner.

He noted that the first time he learned of their fate was when Panorama contacted him and that he has ensured the appropriate and proper treatment and welfare of animals that have been in his possession and has rehomed a substantial number of them.

Animal Aid’s cameras captured multiple instances of apparent regulation breaches, including horses being killed in sight of each other and being shot from a distance.

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Racing stopped on March 18^th before the British government introduced the current lockdown measures to protect essential emergency services and the health and safety of the public.

The BHA has not set a new date for ending the suspension but plans are in place so that the sport is ready to resume as soon as is possible.

The British Horse Racing Authority has been working with trainers, racecourses and other participants to develop a phased plan for resumption which will allow the sport to transition back to its normal fixture list later in the year.

The BHA is now aiming for a resumption in May, but that is dependent on permission from the British government. It is being assumed that the resumption of racing would be behind closed doors only, at a point when the safety of participants can be assured and the pressure on the health service allows. Tough biosecurity measures would be in place to keep any risks to a minimum.

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Last night, The Jockey Club announced that The Randox Health Grand National has been cancelled due to coronavirus.

Two race meetings are scheduled to take place behind closed doors at Wetherby and Taunton today, but race meetings will cease up to the end of April. The decision will be kept under constant review.

The BHA took the decision to protect essential emergency services and the health and welfare of staff working in the racing industry. Racecourses and racing have obligations to ensure the safety of participants and provide medical cover which clearly cannot be fulfilled in these circumstances. This follows the new advice issued by government yesterday to combat the spread of the virus.

Nick Rust, the Chief Executive of the BHA, said:

“This is a national emergency the like of which most of us have never seen before. We’re a sport that is proud of its connection to rural communities and to the local businesses that support our industry. But our first duty is to the health of the public, our customers and to racing industry participants and staff so we have decided to suspend racing following the government’s latest advice.

“Racing is a family and I know we will pull together over the coming days, weeks and months and support each other. By stopping racing, we can free up medical resources, doctors and ambulances, be they private sector or NHS, to assist in the national effort to fight this virus. And we can support racing industry participants and staff as they face up to the personal challenges ahead and care for their own families.

“There will be difficult months ahead for many of us. We need to focus now on ensuring that we can continue to look after our horses as the virus affects the thousands of participants and staff who dedicate their lives to caring for animals. We need to do what we can to support businesses inside and outside racing and the many people whose livelihoods depend upon this £4 billion industry.

“We are in constant contact with government which understands the very significant consequences of this decision for jobs and businesses. We will work with them to do our best to manage the impact.

“Racing leaders will keep today’s decision under constant review and endeavour to keep all customers, participants, staff and dependent businesses informed as the situation progresses.”

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