This is a strange story: one of the UK's leading race trainers is being prosecuted for putting a horse down. The horse was suffering from a severe leg infection following a breakdown in a race. Apparently, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals believes that that is the attending veterinarian's call, not the trainer's. This is not the first story of this type I've run across. A story from Australia comes to mind, in the reverse: a horse owner was struggling for the right to keep a horse alive, while veterinarians insisted the horse be put to sleep.
These stories bring up challenges to laws and traditions and many people's beliefs in what constitutes suffering and a horse's right to be free of pain.
Follow this link, read this article, especially if you are a veterinarian.
This story is in today's London TIMES: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,379-2183497,00.html
Text and photos © 2006 Hoofcare Publishing. Text and photos posted on “The HoofBlog”, a casual news source for subscribers and friends of Hoofcare & Lameness: The Journal of Equine Foot Science. Learn more (and subscribe online using our secure server) at http://www.hoofcare.com or write to Hoofcare Publishing, 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930 USA. Tel USA 978 281 3222; Fax 978 283 8775, or email hoofblog@hoofcare.com
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