No place for police horses
Announcement posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia 15 Sep 2020
Dear Editor,
The ugly scenes of confrontations between police and protesters at the Queen Victoria Markets on the weekend were bad enough. But right in the middle of the shouting mob were a team of police horses, with placards and hands being waved in their faces, their sensitive ears assailed by the shouts and screams of the protestors.
Horses and other animals shouldn’t fight our battles for us. They are innocent of the conflict and do not need to be brought into it. Horses are extremely sensitive and have to undergo rigorous training to decondition themselves not to flee, a natural instinct for a prey species, when there is noise, confusion, and so on.
Animals don’t start riots, and unlike human officers, they have not volunteered to be placed in these violent and stressful situations. In light of the dangers posed to horses and humans, the use of horses in riot control is clearly not the best method of approach, and should be discontinued immediately.
Mimi Bekhechi
Campaigns Strategist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PO Box 20308 World Square
Sydney, NSW, 2002
(08) 8556-5828
The ugly scenes of confrontations between police and protesters at the Queen Victoria Markets on the weekend were bad enough. But right in the middle of the shouting mob were a team of police horses, with placards and hands being waved in their faces, their sensitive ears assailed by the shouts and screams of the protestors.
Horses and other animals shouldn’t fight our battles for us. They are innocent of the conflict and do not need to be brought into it. Horses are extremely sensitive and have to undergo rigorous training to decondition themselves not to flee, a natural instinct for a prey species, when there is noise, confusion, and so on.
Animals don’t start riots, and unlike human officers, they have not volunteered to be placed in these violent and stressful situations. In light of the dangers posed to horses and humans, the use of horses in riot control is clearly not the best method of approach, and should be discontinued immediately.
Mimi Bekhechi
Campaigns Strategist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PO Box 20308 World Square
Sydney, NSW, 2002
(08) 8556-5828