Lions in Florida aren’t eating racehorses
May 1st, 2009 by admin
The 2009 Kentucky Derby is this weekend, and there have been many news stories about the history of what has been called the oldest continuous sporting event in the U.S. Today’s Palm Beach Post featured a curious roundabout look at troubles facing horse-racing, past and present. The Post spoke with Terry Wolf, wildlife director at Lion Country Safari, who dispelled rumors that lions at the zoo are fed horse meat- at least, not any longer.
Wolf explained that many years ago, “the park went through about 15 horses a day.” Most of the dead horses came from South Florida racetracks, and many had been pumped full of drugs. The practice of feeding ex-racehorses to lions ended in 1974, due to health concerns. “Cats couldn’t get out of bed because they were so stoned from what they’d eaten the night before,” said Wolf. These days the big cats at Lion Country Safari eat dead Florida cows.
The rumors about poorly-performing horses sent to slaughter aren’t without foundation. Several states, including Montana and Tennessee, are currently considering allowing horse slaughterhouses to open, with the expressed purpose of selling horse flesh to zoos (the nation’s last horse slaughterhouse closed in 2007). Last month, NBC Ch. 6 produced an excellent report on a horse named “Freedom’s Flight” who raced at Gulfstream Park before ending-up at an illegal slaughterhouse in Miami (the horse was rescued).
And the use of drugs to mask pain or to improve performance is still common in horse-racing (click here to read “Many Derby Owners Silent on Drug Issue,” an article from Wednesday’s New York Times).