‘Severe neglect’ of animals tied to faltering racetrack industry
The ruddy brown and chestnut horses appear to be barely standing on knobby legs, their rib cages distinctly visible beneath stretched skin and matted fur.
But the photos don’t do justice to the “severe neglect” experienced by eight horses and five ponies rescued in Durham Region in late October, said Debby Houghton, an investigator with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The frail horses were severely emaciated and wracked with disease, lice and rain rot.
Houghton said some of the animals — ranging from six months to 17 years old — have connections to the horseracing industry.
That has spurred concerns among animal welfare and equine experts of a mounting crisis caused by Ontario’s ailing racetrack industry and a dramatic increase in hay prices this summer.
“We’re seeing a fallout now, we believe,” said Houghton, who called the seizure unprecedented in her 22-year career.
“We’re very worried. All of the humane societies are.”
Ruby Richards, animal health coordinator for the Humane Society of Durham Region, said it has been anticipating a growing problem of owners no longer able to care for their complex, four-legged creatures — a problem for which it has yet to find a solution.
“This is something that we’ve been warned about,” Richards said. “It’s going to be a really bad year.”
Earlier this month, the OSPCA expressed similar concerns in the face of a struggling racing industry.
Humane society official warns: “It’s going to be a really bad year”
Industry troubles were amplified by the Ontario government’s March budget decision to end $345 million in funding for the Slots at Racetracks program.
“Although there are rising concerns for the welfare of the horses from the racing industry, there are also concerns for the lack of feed existing due to our recent summer,” OSPCA’s chief inspector Connie Mallory said in a release. OSPCA spokesperson Alison Cross said they are actively working with owners, and most concerns have yet to become “full-blown” investigations like the one in Durham Region.
“It’s definitely something we’re taking seriously,” Cross said.
This year’s drought reduced hay production, nearly doubling prices for horses’ main sustenance, said producer Jim Glenn of Glen Isle Farms in Keene, Ont., 30 minutes southeast of Peterborough. Dwindling market prices for horses were compounded by the rising cost of feeding them.
“If there’s no one to buy the horse and there’s no need for the horse and they’re not going to pay for the high cost of boarding and feed, something has to be done,” Glenn said. “There comes a point in time you can’t keep Old Dusty forever.” That is the new reality for his clients, he said. “You’ll hear them say that they’re going to have to be slaughtered,” Glenn said. “That is truthful.” Meanwhile, the fate of most of Ontario’s 17 tracks, the horses that run there and associated business has yet to be sealed, with the provincial government offering $50 million over three years to help the industry transition.
But a report released in October from the government’s Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel said there is a need for substantial outside funding to sustain the industry.
At least one racing complex, the 115-year-old Fort Erie Race Track, has indicated it faces closure at the end of the year if investors don’t come forward.
And the Durham society is now itself struggling to provide care for the rescue horses.
It’s appealing for donations to cover the “crippling” $7,000 monthly cost of boarding and caring for its 13 new charges, given names such as Timbit, Mocha and Toffee. While the OSPCA deals with complaints related to all animals, including livestock, Cross said it relies on foster farms to house such animals.
The society is looking for competent owners with the means to adopt the horses. Given their condition, they will need indoor accommodation over the winter.
“I’m really concerned about what we’re going to do,” Houghton said. “We don’t have the resources to deal with this.”
Charges against the owner are pending as an OSPCA investigation continues.