GROSS CRUELTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16981, 18 April 1917, Page 2

GROSS CRUELTY

REPORT FROM RIVERTON RACE MEETING.

OONSIDERED-BY SOCIETY FOR PREVENTION OF CRUELTY.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had before it at its meeting yesterday a letter from Mr John Miller, M.R.C.V.S 1 ;, of Invcrcargill, calling attention to what ho considered a very cruel practice that oarao under hia notice at the recent Hive-rtem race meeting. Tho writer said he waa told the practice was quite coni'inon at northern raoo meetings, and if so he was much surprised that it should be allowed. At tho Riyerton raco meeting ho observed a jockey fixing a strap to tho tonguo' of a horse about to start in one of the races. " The amount of pulling and tugging that was indulged in," continued Mr Miller, "to get the' tongue of the "buckle into a certain hole in tho strap was more than 1 could endure without protesting. I thought it a horrible thing to do to any animal. The owner refused to have it removed. I called the stipendiary etcward°s attention to tho case, and ho and I walked on to the course and examined the animal's tongue. During tho short time the strap had boeri applied tho horse's tongue had assumed a purple colour, and' tho condition was, one of constriction. The strap was removed, but as! the owner refused to run his horse without it tho stipendiary steward said tho jockey might put it on somewhat slacker at the post before starting. A similar strap was also applied! to another horse. . . . Dr Trotter (president of tho club), quite agreed with me that it was cruelty. Other officials were inclined to accept the excuse that it was applied to prevent tho tonguo getting over tho bit as sufficient; to warrant its use, ignoring the fact of the pain inflicted on tha animal. No one seemed inclined to tako tho responsibility of preventing its use. 1 am only sorry now that I did not call in the police, and , but for the fact that the stipen diary steward told mo ho had 1 seen it applied l to trotters, and that it had never been called in question, I would certainly havo .done so. In my opinion, to apply such a strap to tho tonguo is gross cruelty. The apparatus is nothing more nor less than a twitch, and a very severe one too. Tho strap is narrow and slit in tho centre. : Ono end is passed through the slit, and into tho loop thus formed the tongue is placed. The strap is puued tight and buckled underneath the jaw tightly." > Mr Miller said' ho had asked JSIr Curry to report tho matter to his officials, but ho (Mr Miller) failed to see that it lay with any racing committee to say whether such a thing should be allowed or not. Ho asked what tho society was prepared to do to prevent this either by protesting to the Racing Conference or otherwise. 'Tho Secretary of the society (Mr T. S. Graham) said ho had discussed tho matter with racing experts here, one of whom told him that he know of the practice, nnd that it was occasionally neoeesary, as without it some horses would get absolutely out of control and dash whore they liked. Tho Chairman (Mr G. Fenwick) said it seemed to him an atrociously, cruel case. No horso on which it was necessary to inflict this gross cruelty ought to bo run. It v.'-as open to any member of the gommitteo to movo either in the direction of testing tho cruelty of the practice by a prosecution or of calling the attention of racing clubs to the matter, with a view of securing tho prohibition of the practice. Mrs Edwards protested! against such cruelty,, and said sho had never_ known of such a device being necessary in tho Old Country.

Mr W. F. Sligo said ho had been at the raco mooting mentioned, and know both tho horso and the owner. Ho could not understand tho owner, about whom he spoke in complimentary terms, permitting Ruch a thing, but possibly ho did not know of it. Ho remembered a simitar device being used at a local trotting meeting, find tho reason given was that the horse had a. habit of setting its tonspio out and biting it badly. 'The strap was said to bo to provent it bitintr its tonirue. _ Mr T. Elliott said this was a matter they must not pnss over. It wns a rather serious offence. He knew tho owner, very well, and ho w.is a fine man; but tho speaker thought the action described was cruelty. The Chairman: "Atrocious cruplt.y!" He pointed out that tho letter cain-o from Inveroargill, and that it referred to a Riverton raco meeting, and suggested that it came under the jurisdiction of tho Southland Society. They could refer it to that society, statist- that there had been an unanimous expression of opinion that tho practice was very cruel, and that tho Otago Society was prepared to take the inafcter up, but thought, it should l>o referred to the Southland Society. Mr Mills expressed his concurrence with th'R view. It was unanimously decided to refer the matter to the Southland Society with the expression of opinion that the treatment described was very cruel.