PETA enumerated other instances of animal cruelty seen during the recent Games and believes those instances should spell the end of horses being included in the Olympics.
ANIMAL welfare group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has written an open letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) calling for the ban on equestrian events from future Games.
The group cited the August 6 incident during Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where Annika Schleu of Germany and her coach Kim Raisner were caught on camera whipping and punching the horse, Saint Boy as basis for its call.
PETA recalled another incident when Jet Set, a horse ridden by Swiss competitor Robin Godel, suffered an irreparable ligament rupture and had to be euthanized.
For the equestrian events, athletes are given 20 minutes to bond with an unfamiliar horse before their round.
Schleu was in tears when Saint Boy refused to jump during the pentathlon competition, allegedly prompting her to hit the horse repeatedly.
The video was shared online with people agreeing that the event must be removed from future Olympics. One wrote, “This 'sport' should not be in the Olympics (give the horses the medals) and it should be banned outright."
PETA enumerated other instances of animal cruelty seen during the recent Games and believes these events should spell the end of horses being included in the Olympics.
The group likens the removal of the sport to the inclusion of new sports such as skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing, “it’s time to remove sports that are no longer supported by the public.”
Equestrianism made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Only recently, the IOC voted in new powers allowing them to remove a sport if its governing body does not comply with a decision made by the IOC executive board or if it "acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic movement."
The sports that seemed to have caused the decision are weightlifting and boxing because of long-term doping cases and governance issues.
Should the IOC agree to remove equestrian events from the Games? The answer will be known in a very near future and by all indications it must be removed.
After all, it’s a game that only the rich enjoy and play.
Tags: #PETA, #OlympicGames, #horseracing