Princess Anne attacks ‘inhumane’ suffering of horses as they are taken to slaughter and slams trade’s dopers, traders and breeders

Straight from the Horse's Heart

As published on the DailyMail.co.uk

“The greatest suffering continues to be in the inhumane transportation of horses across country borders to slaughter houses…”

Princess Anne and horse ‘Stevie B’ after completing the dressage events at the Windsor Horse Trials in 1980

Princess Anne has attacked the suffering of horses being transported to slaughter houses.

In a foreword of a new book, the Princess Royal said the ‘inhumane’ transportation of horses as the ‘greatest suffering’ the animals can face

The royal, the sister of Prince Charles, is the president of theWorld Horse Welfare organisation and previously sparked controversy when she said horse welfare could be improved if horse meat was sold in British supermarkets.

She has reignited the issue in a new book. ‘Horse Welfare: Use not Abuse’, written by Christopher Hall, where she said the care of horses is getting worse because of ‘over-breeding, doping and indiscriminate horse trading.’

‘The greatest suffering continues to be in the inhumane transportation of horses across country borders to slaughter houses, matched only by the thousands of horses, donkeys and mules working long hours in the developing world’, the 64-year-old wrote. 

‘In these countries, the wellbeing of the horse may be just as significant as that of a child because, without a horse to fetch and carry, the very viability of family life can suffer. And yet it is still difficult for some to recognise the value of working animals in these situations.

‘While those struggling for survival may be forgiven for their failure to care adequately for their animals through ignorance or poverty, in equestrian ownership in more developed countries there is surely no excuse for inadequate care.’

The Princess Royal, however, stopped short of suggesting developing and better regulating the horse meat market.

In 2013 the discovery that processed meals advertised as containing beef was found to have horse meat rocked the food industry market and shook consumer confidence.

That year Princess Anne urged a debate on the issue, asking: ‘Should we be considering a real market for horse meat and would that reduce the number of welfare cases, if there was a real value in the horse meat sector?’

Former top jockey A P McCoy also wrote in his foreword to the book: ‘Welfare is vital to all who love horses this book goes to the heart of the matter.’