2024-01-15 09:03:01
[Animal News]Many people in Hong Kong like to bet on horse racing, with the annual betting amount reaching 100 billion yuan. But behind the gambling, how much effort and sacrifice are made by the horses? How many people ask what happens to retired horses? According to the annual report of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, 549 horses will be retired in 2022, but there is no explanation of the whereabouts of these horses after retirement. However, some horse owners have asked the Jockey Club’s senior officials and learned that the final fate of most retired horses is humane destruction and can be recuperated. There are only a few people who are old. They work hard all their lives to provide entertainment to mankind, but in the end their bodies are buried in landfills like garbage. Mak Chi-ho, chairman of the NPV Non-Profit Veterinary Services Association, advocated the establishment of a horse retirement fund to ensure that horses have a secure retirement life.
Reporters: Zhou Yuheng, Liang Meibao
Photography, editing: Zhu Jiajun
Editor: Liang Meibao
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In the hot summer of July 2023, three horses died during the race in just five days. “Light of Civilization” and “Master” both collapsed and died of heart attacks, and “Everyone is Happy” was humanely destroyed due to a broken foot. In the past many years, many horses died suddenly or were humanely destroyed due to injuries or illnesses. Normal horses have a life span of more than 20 years. The retirement age for horses in Hong Kong is 10 years old. However, many horses retire at the age of 6 or 7. There are only a few of them. Be able to live a happy life.
This newspaper sent multiple inquiries to the Jockey Club via email on November 3 and November 27, 2023 respectively, including the number of horses that have been humanely destroyed, the arrangements and whereabouts of retired horses, how much expenditure is involved in relocating retired horses, cancellation Registration system arrangements, etc., but the Jockey Club had not responded as of deadline.
With so many horses competing every season and so many retiring, where do they go?
In fact, horse owners can decide to arrange for the horses to be transported to other farms or handed over to the Jockey Club when their horses are retired. Former Vice President of the Horse Owners Association and horse owner Tsang Bingwei once asked Jockey Club executives in a private setting. He quoted the other party as saying that there are not many places to take care of retired horses in Hong Kong, so they are usually treated with humane destruction.
Insufficient space to house retired horses
Bunny, a horse racing worker, said in an interview with this newspaper that a small number of retired horses can live in riding schools. However, taking into account the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and private riding schools, there are only about 10 venues in total in Hong Kong, which is simply not enough to accommodate 400 horses every year. Retired horses, “The biggest problem in Hong Kong is that there is a small amount of land and a large number of people. Building more space to house horses is not the most urgent need for the public. Therefore, many retired horses have to face the problem of humane disposal.”
He also believes that another reason for the problem of the future of retired horses in Hong Kong is that the Jockey Club races are more frequent than in the past, which has greatly increased the number of imported horses every year, and also increased the number of retired horses in disguise. He described that in order for the public to pay more attention to the welfare of retired horses, the society’s view of horse racing should be changed. It should not be regarded as just a gambling tool, but as a sport in which horses participate, so that the lives of horses can be respected.
Promote the establishment of a horse retirement fund
Mak Chi-ho, chairman of the NPV Non-Profit Veterinary Services Association, believes that given the current social situation in Hong Kong, it is not feasible to cancel horse racing activities immediately, and we can only find ways to protect the welfare of horses. He described that horses must be exploited in horse racing activities, but horse racing participants should at least regard horses as working partners and provide them with reasonable treatment and benefits. “Employees who leave a company should have reasonable retirement benefits.” , but are there any horses? There is no guarantee for the retirement of horses in Hong Kong, and the most dangerous thing is that no one knows their whereabouts.”
He suggested that the Jockey Club set up a horse retirement fund. When horse owners purchase horses, they allocate a certain percentage of the horse’s value to the fund. They also pay a sum of money every time they race. This way, they can have funds to place retired horses and send them to the hospital. Farms in other places, “Of course retirement means retirement. They can no longer be ridden, but let them run freely. It is good in Australia, New Zealand, and even mainland China. There is a lot of land that can be used as farms and can also be used as tourist attractions. Travelers come to visit these retired horses.”
He also believes that the Jockey Club can do more to improve the welfare of horses, formulate racing guidelines, and monitor whether horses are treated inhumanely, such as whether horses are injured due to excessive riding.
Owner Zeng Bingwei, who could not bear to let his horse be humanely destroyed, sent his horse to Australia to rest in his old age.
Many horse owners will hand over their retired horses to the Jockey Club for disposal, but some owners choose to arrange a freer venue for their retired horses so that they can take care of themselves for the rest of their lives. Owner Zeng Bingwei, who has been raising horses for 20 years and has raised more than 10 horses so far, said that over the years he has sent retired horses back to their place of origin in Australia. “I have feelings for them. They are like BB boys. I can’t bear to see them.” die.”
Tsang Bingwei occasionally visits those horses in Australia, and regularly receives videos of those horses’ lives. He sees the retired “Powerful”, “Powerful”, “Powerful Gallop”, “Diligence”, etc. freely roaming the big pasture. The running video made him feel reassured and happy.
“They are very happy there because they don’t have to be trapped in a box. There is a big farm for them to walk around.” He said that he often interacts with horses and has feelings for them. Some horses have won a lot for him. This time, although the horse “Weilixi” did not win, it had “no merit but no reward”, and I really couldn’t bear to let them be humanely destroyed.
He said that raising horses is very expensive. It costs more than 2 million yuan to raise a horse. “I don’t mind spending 10% more to transport him. You can go to Australia to visit him when you have time.”
On the day of the interview, Zeng Bingwei took reporters to the Sha Tin stable to visit his horses, Weili Galloping and Weili Yongji, and fed them carrots. Both horses seemed to recognize him. He said with a smile that horses are like babies. If you treat them well, they will be happy. They will be very coy and will lean on you, but if you are not friendly to them, they will have a bad impression of you. “
The deep love between man and horse, the classic horse king “Qi Bing” protects the jockey before his death
Horses are animals with feelings. Although they cannot express their feelings with words, they express their feelings for people through actions. Chairman of the NPV Non-Profit Veterinary Services Association, Mak Chi-ho, said that what impressed him the most was the horse king “Qi Bing” in the 1980s. At that time, Qi Bing knew that he was about to collapse, but he was afraid that jockey Hu Huo HuoSheng would fall and be injured, so he He slowly knelt down and asked Hu Huo Shi to dismount. Hu Huo Shi hugged Qi Bing and cried bitterly. Mak Zhihao, who witnessed this scene at the racecourse at the time, is still deeply impressed and moved to this day.
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He said that Qi Bing was originally a third-level horse, and Huo Huo Shi was not a good jockey, but the relationship between the horse and the horse was deep, and he ran from a third-level horse to a high-class horse. However, in a race in December 1989, Qi Bing knew that He couldn’t do it anymore, so he slowly knelt down and let Hu Huo Shi fall from the horse. “That day, after Hu Huo Shi fell from the horse, he hugged the horse and shouted, refusing to leave.” According to the information, the day of the incident was December 2, 1989. Qi Bing was in He collapsed midway through the event due to severe internal bleeding and was eventually euthanized.
Mak Zhihao described horses as animals with emotions. Like cats and dogs, they are very spiritual and have a lot of interactions with people.
Bunny, who once worked in a riding school, said that horses are like children. “Don’t think they are big, but horses are actually very fragile in heart. They can make them bounce at the slightest sound because they are very sensitive.”
He recognized that he was familiar with a horse named “Prize King” at that time. When he was sad, he tried to talk to Prize King. Prize King seemed to know that he was unhappy and stood quietly listening to what he said. “Horses and people know how to talk.” To build a relationship, he doesn’t know how to listen to what you say, but he will sense whether you are happy or unhappy, and will stay with you when you are unhappy.”
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