Horse racing has been in the news since the Eight Belles Kentucky Derby tragedy (see the DawnWatch report at http://tinyurl.com/4dtuo4) and will surely stay there through the Preakness at Pimlico this Saturday, May 17. There is a wealth of opportunity for letters to the editor about the use and abuse of animals in entertainment, and specifically racing. While it is always worthwhile to respond to articles you find on the web (or that are sent to you on the web) from papers across the country or world, the easiest place to get published is in your local paper, so don't miss the opportunity this week to pick up on any story about racing in your local paper. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.
The horse racing section from Thanking the Monkey, which is headed "Derby Winner Dinner," is now available on the website at http://www.thankingthemonkey.com/docs/RunningforTheirLives.pdf
While it is important not to take exact phrases, you may wish to read the section for letter ideas.
Perfectly timed for this season, the HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, has included a segment on the slaughter of racing horses. I am yet to see it, but in December 2004 the same show aired a segment on greyhound racing that was superb. (The DawnWatch write-up is at
http://www.dawnwatch.com/12-04_Animal_Media_Alerts.htm#greyhound )
Here is the HBO teaser on the current segment:
"Hidden Horses
Few casual horse racing fans are aware that many former racing horses are slaughtered for profit. When a thoroughbred race horse reaches the end of its career or is simply no longer profitable on the track, it is often taken directly to auction and sold for meat. Because horse slaughter is no longer practiced in this country, these thoroughbreds are now being shipped by 'killer buyers' to slaughterhouses abroad, which are frequently less regulated and less humane than former U.S. slaughterhouses. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg, who recently won the 2008 Sports Emmy(r) for Outstanding Sports Journalism for his 2007 REAL SPORTS story on the NFL concussion crisis, traces the disturbing journey many of these young and healthy horses take from the track, to auctions, to slaughterhouses, and finally to the plates of European and Japanese diners who pay top dollar for the delicacy.
Correspondent: Bernard Goldberg
Producer: Joe Perskie"
The show aired first on Monday May 12, and will air many more times between now and June 2. Go to http://tinyurl.com/pfvo7 to see the schedule and work out when you should be tivoing.
The Animal Welfare Institute has a write-up on the show at
http://www.awionline.org/news/2008/hbo_real_sports.htm
It includes links to action alerts telling you how you can support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
Whether or not you can watch, please make sure the HBO Real Sports producers receive they praise it deserves for taking on this issue. Enthusiastic positive feedback for animal friendly coverage encourages more of it. HBO Real Sports takes comments at:
http://tinyurl.com/39xqh3
I send thanks to the many folks spreading the word to me and others about this show.
A note to DawnWatch subscribers: Because my book came out this month, and the New York launch is this Sunday, my schedule has been crazy and my DawnWatch schedule has suffered. I miss regular DawnWatching terribly. I will be back in the full swing of it by mid June.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.