In a letter to the editor, Bob Meyers writes, "According to the EPA, the types of animal waste pollutants discharged by Sterling Suffolk Racecourse threaten human health and the environment."
To the editor:
First, I want to thank Sen. Hinds for removing his name from Senate Bill 101.
My wife and I have lived in the Berkshires for most of our lives. We were happy to see horse racing abandoned in Great Barrington and all of the other “fair” tracks long ago. Now, Sterling Suffolk Racecourse plans to bring horse racing back to the Barrington Fairgrounds through strong-arm legislation. The bills, S.101 and H.13, include language designed to bypass Great Barrington’s right to vote whether horse racing be resurrected. The very notion of horse racing returning to Great Barrington, especially given the enormous environmental red flags, is alarming.
SSR has demonstrated that it is not a good neighbor. While operating in the Boston area, the company allowed a variety of pollutants, including runoff from the dead horses, manure, urine and bedding, to enter Boston’s local waters. As a result, SSR was forced to spend close to $5 million in fines and remediation efforts. According to the EPA, the types of animal waste pollutants discharged by SSR threaten human health and the environment. At a minimum, these pollutants contribute to algae growth, which can decrease oxygen levels, harm water-dwelling creatures, and transmit disease to humans via bacteria and parasites.
Most of the Fairgrounds lies within the Housatonic River floodplain and is above aquifers that feed several public water supplies, including the Sheffield Water Company. Under the best of circ*mstances, racetracks produce extensive waste, including animal and veterinary medical waste. They also consume vast amounts of water.
If you are as concerned as I am about this development, please urge the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, where the pending bills reside, to ensure that the citizens of the town be able to vote whether to allow horse racing activities in the delicate ecosystem of the Great Barrington Fairgrounds. The telephone number for the Senate is (617) 722-1222 and for the House, the number is (617) 722-2014. Additionally, please urge the Great Barrington Selectboard to vote for a home rule petition that ensures that its citizens can actually vote — not merely express opinions on permits — prior to any license application, whether horse racing returns to their community.
Bob Meyers
Windsor
FAQs
Poor horse pasture and trail management combined with heavy horse hoof traffic can lead to problematic soil erosion. Runoff can carry eroded sediment and pollutants (like nitrogen, phosphorous, and bacteria from horse feed, manure, and bedding) off the farm and deposit them in nearby soils and bodies of water.
How does PETA feel about horse racing? ›
Don't let the horse racing industry fool you––horses on the track are drugged, tormented, and pushed beyond their physical limits.
What are the consequences of horse racing? ›
Risk of injury and death
Racehorses may also die suddenly during or after a race, which may be due to heart failure or other causes such as the condition known as Exercise Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage (EIPH), where bleeding into the lungs occurs.
How can we reduce the environmental impact of horse keeping? ›
The first step in reducing impacts from manure is to remove manure and soiled bedding from stalls, paddocks, and arenas daily. Harrow or drag pastures to break up manure and remove manure from high use areas to reduce the amount of pollution runoff.
Are horses or cars worse for the environment? ›
Horses may not have batteries or motors, but they are powered by something else – and that's why they have a higher environmental impact than public transportation. “They eat and poop a lot,” Quinn explained.
What environment is best for horses? ›
When caring for your horse or pony make sure they have a suitable place to live. Horses need plenty of room to exercise outside as well as access to shelter. They also need dry areas to stand or lie down in to help ensure that they remain happy and healthy.
Will horse racing be banned? ›
Despite the controversies, "racing will never be banned — there is too much money to be made from it, particularly as gambling becomes easier across the U.S.," Elizabeth Banicki writes for The Guardian.
Do horses feel pain in horse racing? ›
Horses are incredibly sensitive, and these instruments can, and do, inflict serious pain. It is pain that horses, who have excellent memories, don't forget. Photos of racehorses snapped in the moments they extend full stride across the finish line show expressions of animals in fright.
Do horses realize they are racing? ›
So does a horse even know it's in a race? Again, the answer is likely “no”. Running (cantering or galloping) is a quintessential horse behaviour and horses voluntarily run together in groups when given the opportunity – even in races without jockeys.
How does horse racing affect the economy? ›
In California, the horse industry directly contributes over $4.5 billion to the state's economy, along with 77,703 jobs. From those direct effects, the horse industry's contribution ripples out into other sectors of the economy.
Known health issues associated with unsanctioned horse racing include the spread of equine infectious anemia and equine piroplasmosis in the U.S. equid herd in addition to the use of many illegal substances. Abusive practices toward horses have been documented in these races.
How many racehorses are sent to slaughter? ›
About 20,000 U.S. horses—including former racehorses, work horses, show animals, discarded pets, and even wild horses—are sold to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico every year, according to a recent report by U.S. nonprofits Animal Wellness Action, Center for a Humane Economy, and Animals' Angels.
Why do farmers still keep horses? ›
Thus, horse-drawn farming is often perceived as a part of a self-sufficient lifestyle that employs renewable resources. Furthermore, horses can be maintained on pasture for much of the year, and pasture is often on marginal acres that aren't suitable for other uses (Miller, 1981).
Do horses contribute to global warming? ›
The biggest part of the CO2 footprint is caused by the feed (roughage and concentrates) that a horse eats. The (production of) roughage is responsible for more than half of the total CO2 footprint of keeping a horse.
How do horses escape predators? ›
The horse's primary defense is flight. They run first and determine the stimulus later. The horse's secondary defense is to fight. Horses are generally timid, but will fight (bite, kick, strike) when they feel threatened and can't get away.
Are horses environmentally friendly? ›
Horses also help preserve grasslands. If a farmer practices rotational grazing, this prevents overgrazing and promotes grass to keep growing. With grass still in the grazing fields from rotational grazing, this also prevents erosion and promotes healthy growth of vegetation in these fields for years to come.
Do horses contribute to climate change? ›
Methane is produced in nonruminant herbivores such as horses because they undergo hindgut fermentation. Although equine produce less methane than ruminant, increasing population of horses might increase their contribution to the present 1.2 to 1.7 Tg, estimate.
What are the environmental pressures for horses? ›
Water shortages can dehydrate horses and turn once lush turn out fields into dry wastelands with excessive dust that can cause breathing problems. Provide horses with plenty of clean, fresh water to drink, and help fields stay green by planting drought-tolerate turf and cover that is suitable for horses to graze.
Do horses cause pollution? ›
Horse manure contains nutrients that make great fertilizer, but in large quantity may cause problems for aquatic life in creeks, wetlands and the ocean. It also contains bacteria.
