Chuckwagon horses at the Stampede that is. Dying in splintered agony with a bloody clockwork regularity. Every year we wonder how many will die, and hope for the best. Usually we're disappointed.
Fuck this macho bullshit.
I'm no hypocrite. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat veal or foie gras either. I don't have a problem with subsistence hunting, but I find trophy hunting repellent. It's all just a matter of where you draw the line. You don't have to believe in animal rights to believe in animal welfare.
I don't have a problem with responsible stewardship of an animal which even racing can be.
But the Chucks are just a despicable slaughter. They are no longer defensible. The essence of the sport is macho one-upmanship, with the lives of horses merely props.
Stop the slaughter. Tradition is no excuse.
If, instead of the chuck wagons, every year they blindfolded someone and send him (it would probably be a man to something this stupid macho) into a stable with a loaded revolver and he got to squeeze off a couple rounds, would the chuck wagon proponents be upset. Functionally it's the same thing.
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