‘Violence and coercion’: Call for Olympic ban
More than 150,000 people have emailed the International Olympic Committee in a united worldwide push from animal rights group PETA to have all equestrian events banned from future Games amid scandals involving legs being whipped and other issues around treatment of horses.
PETA entities in Asia, Australia, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the US, which represent more than nine million members and supporters, formally requested that the IOC eliminate equestrian events from the Olympic Games.
Australia’s Chris Burton grabbed an unexpected silver medal in the individual eventing competition in Paris, continuing a long tradition of Australian success on horseback at the Olympics.
But one of Great Britain’s leading riders, Charlotte Dujardin, was banned from competing in Paris after video emerged of her repeatedly whipping a horse during a training session. She was also suspended for six months by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and suspended by the British Equestrian Federation, making her ineligible for international or national events.
Charlotte Dujardin should be truly ashamed of herself!
This is not an error of judgment this is systematic abuse.
And the lawyers client said this was standard practice at Dujardins training sessions.
CJ deserves all she gets from now on how many 🐎 have suffered this ?
📹ITV pic.twitter.com/YdJKj94wgR— #T4Animals 🐘🦁🦒🐅🦊🦔🐻 (@Cosmicbrigade) July 24, 2024
But in calling for the ban, PETA officials cited at least five other instances of alleged abuse of horses by Olympic athletes across a variety of countries and called on the IOC to act.
In a letter to the IOC, PETA called out what it labelled “abuse involved in forcing horses to perform” and that it was “entrenched” and declared it “warrants its ejection from the Olympics”.
“Colombian-American Olympic coach and former rider Cesar Parra was caught on video whipping one horse and tying down the head of another,” the letter read.
“Swiss Olympian Martin Fuchs whipped a clearly terrified horse who didn’t want to jump a fence.
“Canadian Eric Lamaze’s horse dropped dead during a stadium jumping event.
“German Olympian Ludger Beerbaum was caught ‘barring’ a horse.
“New Zealand Olympian Sir Mark Todd repeatedly beat a reluctant horse with a thick tree branch.
“The abuse is entrenched, and all efforts to eradicate it have failed.”
From videos of vicious whippings to horses seen with bloody injuries, PETA entities across the globe have come together to ask for a ban on horse events at the @Olympics!
Speak up for horses who are forced to compete through violence & coercion. https://t.co/GW4TqyvbWmpic.twitter.com/ml00CGv9fm— PETA (@peta) August 14, 2024
The ruling body of the modern pentathlon, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, ended the equestrian portion of the sport after public outrage in response to the whipping and striking of a horse at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
But it was reinstated at the Paris Games.
PETA claims equestrian events are the only Olympic sports in which athletes, being the horses, are forced “through violence and coercion” to participate.
“Subjugating animals to force them to perform dangerous and unnatural acts is contrary to the physical excellence and harmony among willing human competitors that characterise the rest of Olympic competition,” the letter concludes.
After copping her Olympic ban, Dujardin said in a statement on social media that what happened was “completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses”.
“There is no excuse,” she added.
“I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
