| Tournament of blood: The sheer horror of horse-fighting |
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| Animals | |
| Written by Danny Penman | |
 The crowd roared its approval as the chestnut coloured stallion sank his teeth into the throat of his opponent. The terrified victim reared up on its hind legs and veered away in a desperate bid to escape.Blood was pouring into his eyes and he could no longer see. His right ear was torn and bloody. Froth bubbled from his nose. The bigger horse moved in for the coup de grace and repeatedly kicked the weaker animal in the head with his front hooves. The horse soon collapsed and lay panting on the ground. It was an all too typical end to one of the Philippines hugely popular horse fighting tournaments. “These tournaments are truly barbaric,” says Andrew Plumbly of the welfare group Network for Animals. “Our vets have seen horses being kicked in the head so hard that their eyes have popped out of their sockets. Other horses have had their ears ripped off. “It’s straight out of the middle-ages.”  Thousands of people turned out to watch the bloodbath, including hundreds of children. Many of the adults were drunk and spent their time gambling and jeering at the animals as they battled over a female horse in heat. The tournament began when a young and vulnerable looking mare was staked to the ground in the middle of a muddy arena. Two stallions were led into the ring. They went wild as soon as they smelt the mare – overwhelmed by desire they attacked each other like fighting cocks. Each animal repeatedly reared up on its hind legs and attempted to ‘box’ its opponent into submission with its front hooves. If that failed they would veer around and try to bite their opponent’s tail or grab them by their genitals. Many of the creatures were soon covered in huge bruises, gashes and bites. Others limped around the arena with a glazed look in their eyes as they pathetically tried to escape. The tournament was equally traumatic for the mare used as ‘bait’ for the stallions. Not only was she was repeatedly hit by misaimed blows from the duelling horses but the poor creature was also forced to have sex with the victorious stallions. All told she was mounted - some might say raped – over thirty times. For the crowd, this was all part of the ‘spectacle’. Those competing in the Don Carlos tournament were in some ways the lucky ones. In other tournaments, horses have lost eyes and ears in fights that can last for many hours. One fight witnessed by Network for Animals lasted an agonising six hours. “The only reason it ended was because one of the horses was so badly injured that he collapsed and could not get up,” says Andrew Plumbly. “Horses often die in the ring from exhaustion or their injuries.” Veterinary care for injured horses is rudimentary at best and frequently too expensive for their owners. As a result, wounded horses are often killed for their meat and the choicest cuts barbecued and sold to the crowd.  A similar fate awaits those horses deemed too old or weak to fight. These are ‘sacrificed’ by pitting them against much larger and stronger stallions who will often inflict horrific injuries on the unfortunate creatures. Many suffer from huge gaping wounds or vicious bites. Some break their legs as they try to escape. Inevitably, the bloodier the injuries, the louder the crowd cheers and the longer the queue at stalls selling barbecued horse flesh. Although horse fighting is illegal in the Philippines, corruption and lack of enforcement ensures that the tournaments continue almost unhindered. Matches are featured on television and local businesses sponsor horses and tournaments. Local authorities compete to offer prize money. The tournaments are promoted as a cultural tradition but this is little better than a lie. They continue largely because of the money earned from gambling, which is inevitably controlled by organised crime syndicates. Thousands of pounds are bet on each fight – a small fortune in a desperately poor country like the Philippines. “They would love us to believe that it is an ancient tradition but it is not,” says Andrew Plumbly. “Traditional fights were on a much smaller scale and were far less vicious. The traditional horses were also far smaller and lighter.” The charity Network for Animals wants to build clinics to treat injured horses and to educate local people about caring for animals. They are also encouraging tourists to avoid the southern Philippines whilst horse fighting continues. “If people want to help stop these tournaments they should write to the Embassy in London and tell them that they will not visit these islands,” says Mr Plumbly. “The threat of a loss of tourism money will help bring this despicable blood sport to an end.” Follow this author on twitter: @DrDannyPenman Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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