For immediate release:
September 20, 2021
Contact:
David Pearl 202-483-7382
Canovanas, PR – Several racetracks, including Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate Fields, Santa Anita Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, recently banned trainers who transport horses on cargo ships, and PETA sent a letter this morning. Erwin Rodriguez, President and CEO of Camarero Race Track, encouraging him to follow suit.
Freight transport can easily become fatal as temperatures in tightly packed shipping containers skyrocket. In its letter, PETA indicates that eight horses died aboard the TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico container ship in 2019.
“Horses aboard cargo ships have been trapped with their own filth in cramped, stuffy containers for several days,” says PETA Senior Vice President Katy Guillermo. “PETA encourages Camarero to secure coaches who treat horses like furniture.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to be used for entertainment” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information please visit PETA.org…
This is followed by PETA’s letter to Rodriguez.
September 20, 2021
Erwin Rodriguez
The president
Camarero Race Track
Dear Mr. Rodriguez:
PETA organizations have over 9 million members and supporters around the world, and I am writing to you on behalf of PETA US to request that the Camarero Racecourse ban all trainers and owners who transport horses by cargo ship. We also urge you to ensure that horses brought in this way are not eligible to race in the Camarero. With a record number of horses going to Puerto Rico right now, it’s important to take immediate action.
Transportation by ship becomes an exhausting and stressful journey for these animals, and all too often they do not survive. You can remember the deaths of eight horses on a freighter just last year, when they were shipped from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan.
Insufficient space and limited air circulation, which cause the temperature inside shipping containers to rise sharply, can quickly become dangerous. High temperatures put horses at risk for heatstroke and brain damage.
Several tracks, including Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, Santa Anita Park and Indiana Grand, recently announced a ban on instructors using cargo ships. Other organizations, including New York City purebred breeders and the Florida Philanthropists and Advocates Association, have spoken out against this dangerous practice.
The Camarero Racecourse is responsible for protecting horses and there are more humane ways of transporting them. The current success and record-breaking handling of the track should make it easier for trainers and owners who do not care about the safety of the horses in their care. Camarero already has a reputation as a country with a staggering death rate, with 228 horses killed in 2020 alone.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this important issue. Looking forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Katie Guillermo
Senior vice president
Equine Department