ANIMAL rights activists staged a protest outside Hollywoodbets Durban July on Saturday to raise awareness to what they say are the ‘horrific realities of the horse-racing industry in South Africa’.

A total of 30 000 spectators from KZN and across the country flocked to Greyville Race Course for the Durban July.

According to Prathna Singh, a member of the activist group, Ban Animal Trading South Africa, they hoped to educate patrons on the horrors of the horse-racing industry.

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“This protest was to make people aware of the abuse that animals endure whenever money is involved. We are hoping that people will stop seeing animals as commodities and rather make the compassionate choice to stop funding the horse-racing industry. Since 2018, we’ve staged a protest, and in many instances, we’ve either had people join us, who were on the way to the July, or leave completely after seeing some of the images.

“We’ve heard the argument that race horses are well-cared for, but we know that’s not true. The use of tongue-ties, for example, is another instance of cruelty. There was an incident last year where a horse was shot dead after it broke its leg on a racecourse in Pietermaritzburg. We are opposed to exploiting animals for profit or entertainment, and in some cases, both those intersect like the July. These race horses are commodities that people use so that they can get the most amount of money from,” she said.

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