In this year’s Christmas festival in Leopardstown five horses died in a horse racing accident leading to outrage and cries for a complete ban to horse racing from activists believing the sport to be inhumane.  

The animal rights group Alliance for Animal Rights is calling for a government investigation into the accident stating, “We want an end to this animal violation based on the vast cruelty that is inherent in horseracing.”

During the Leopardstown accident, the horses died in separate falls following a collision. A spokesperson from the animal rights group spoke to the Irish Independent pointing to previous horse racing accidents including an accident in Sligo two years ago where one horse was put down, and an accident in 1990 in Layton involving the death of three horses  an accident. During the Sligo accident a jokey was also injured and rushed to the hospital.

Ireland’s horse racing industry is a multi-million dollar industry.

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