Animal Aid protests at Uttoxeter Racecourse: 28 horses killed in just six years

Posted on the 13th June 2013

National campaign group, Animal Aid, held a demonstration at the gates of Uttoxeter Racecourse on 19 June to highlight the shockingly high number of horses killed at the Staffordshire venue. At the heart of the protest was Animal Aid’s Horseracing Consultant, Dene Stansall. A supporter dressed as the ‘spectre of death’ – a Victorian lady, garbed in dark gothic robes and wearing a striking hat that features a model race horse tumbling over a hurdle was also on hand.

Since the 2007 launch of Animal Aid’s online database, Race Horse Deathwatch, 28 horses have been killed at Uttoxeter – typically from broken limbs or a broken neck or because they collapsed and died soon after finishing. So far this year, two horses have lost their lives at the course.

In 2012, eight horses died at the venue. Only Cheltenham saw more horses perish during that period – ten in all. Five of the eight 2012 Uttoxeter casualties collapsed and died. Another shocking statistic is that two horses died in a single day’s racing, on two occasions.

Says Animal Aid’s Horseracing Consultant, Dene Stansall:

‘Since the launch of Animal Aid’s Deathwatch database in 2007, 28 horses have died at Uttoxeter Racecourse. Especially worrying is the fact that the death rate was considerably worse in 2012 than in any other year since the introduction of Deathwatch. Another depressing statistic relates to the high number of horses who collapsed and died after races. Five have met this fate since March 2012. Responsibility for the welfare of horses during races lies with the industry’s regulatory body, the British Horseracing Authority. It must demonstrate an ability and willingness to act decisively in response to the obscenely high attrition rate.’