Farm animals need an exit strategy
Re ‘Absolutely devastating,’ Jan. 6 The recent barn fire killing 43 horses is tragic. One can only imagine the pain and fear the animals experienced. Every year, thousands of farm animals, including over 140,000 last year alone, die in barn fires that are often preventable. These animals include cows, chickens, pigs, ducks, sheep and goats. Yet these fires rarely make headline news. These other animals didn’t suffer any less because they are not part of a million-dollar industry.
Better fire safety and prevention protocols are needed in agriculture animal barns to save thousands of animals from suffering a horrific death from smoke inhalation or being burned alive while confined to pens, cages and crates with no chance of escape. Lynn Kavanagh, director, Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals, Toronto
Classy Lanes Stables was described in the Star coverage as an elite stable facility. But it had no sprinkler system and the only fire prevention equipment in the building was fire extinguishers. Yet industry insiders considered it a state-of-the-art training facility. Please! Even the horses’ bedding was flammable.
I will await the verdict of the Ontario fire marshal’s office and the racing commission, but obviously changes have to be made immediately — perhaps starting with the name Classy Lanes. Dodie Smith, Toronto
This haunts me every time it happens, and I’m not even a horse person. Surely someone is clever enough to develop a heat detector for stables that connects to a device to unlock stalls in the event of extreme temperatures? Rachel Plotkin, Toronto
The comments made by those involved in the racing industry in the wake of the tragedy speak volumes. One said, “(I) woke up today with no job” and another bemoaned, “I don’t have anything left.”
The horse-racing industry puts horses at risk every day. Thoroughbreds’ legs are fragile. Pounding at breakneck speed on treacherous track surfaces leads to broken, dangling legs and, ultimately, their deaths. Horses that aren’t fast enough are often discarded like garbage.
It’s time to put horse racing out to pasture. Jennifer O’Connor, Fort Erie, Ont.