A sign of the times and our changing values

My colleague Tara Kirkpatrick and I have been discussing the publication of our feature stories on horseracing for about three months now.
Despite having done our research months ago, back at the start of winter, the newspaper editorial team collectively decided - on several occasions - to hold off on its publication until such time as it could be given the appropriate layout space.
The opportunity finally presented itself this week, and it is indeed a fitting time. With the above-normal temperatures and sunny skies of the last week, many of us have surely embraced the great outdoors by shedding some layers and looking ahead to the days of "spring cleaning."
And so, just as the new year is a time for resolutions, the spring is a time to look back on the things we have accumulated over the last year - willingly or not - and in the process, we often reflect on a time or memory past.
The horse feature, which you can read this week on pages 24 and 25, came about after the news officially broke that the Quebec horse racing industry had effectively closed its doors - a result of both low attendance figures and the cut-off of its government funding.
What struck me at the time was the talk of prized racehorses suddenly being sent to slaughter, in abattoirs across the country, for as little as $100.
The racehorse owners said they had no choice, that it simply cost them too much to keep their horses; horse refuge operators and advocacy groups, however, countered the excuse.
"Horses are a luxury, and if you want that luxury, you have to be responsible to pay for it," said Lisa Rowlands, the operator of a refuge and pet boarding business in East Hawkesbury.
Both Rowlands and her friend, Rose Gergely, the owner and operator of the largest horse refuge in Canada, shared horror stories with me about the abusive treatment of horses in the racing industry - including starvation and drug use - and the "disposable" attitude that plagues such animals.
It would not be fair to point the finger at any one particular racehorse owner, as there are surely some good ones to be found. No, the finger is pointed at the sports entertainment industry as a whole, whose competitive nature contributes to the demand for unreasonable performance standards and the resulting steroid injections and abuse.
This is the same sports entertainment industry which sets the bar so high for professional athletes, including Olympians, that it is no small wonder that many have recently spoken out against the rampant abuse of drugs in their respective professions.
I would therefore argue that the slaughter of horses for human consumption, as well as their treatment in the industry, raises questions about our values as a society.
Let us examine the fact that horse slaughter in Canada, as well as our import of horses for slaughter purposes, doubled within two years of the practice effectively being banned in our neighbouring country to the south.
Why do we continue to slaughter our horses, so that their meat can primarily be exported to countries like France and Japan?
Why do we not demand or enforce stricter animal cruelty laws in our provinces, and ban or test for drug abuses in performance animals?
Why do we continue to spend billions upon billions of dollars towards the support of professional athletes - as a nation - into advertisements, government grants, Olympic games and sports development programs, when we cannot act to guarantee the same protection or pay a small share towards the long-term care of these animals?
Yet, as Rowlands explained to me, most people do not imagine a horse to be a disposable animal; because surely, as a society, we do not tolerate the abuse of dogs.
In any case, our treatment of horses is undoubtedly a sign of the changing times.
These equine creatures were once the cornerstone of our human societies. Horses provided transport, facilitated labour, delivered our mail, and were the prized possession of either their owners or their thieves.
Horses were once an animal to be cherished, though are now more likely to be found at a flea market, bought for slaughter and for dog food.
And while there were originally more than one million wild horses in Canada, only a few thousand remain today; despite this, there are no conservation laws in place, and none pending.
"We have never appreciated our wild horses in Canada," Manitoba rancher Steve Howlett told the Toronto Star in 2005. "We have shot them and slaughtered them almost to oblivion."
I encourage anyone reading this article to consider the independent and often unpaid work being done in the name of animal welfare - a charitable effort most likely underway in your own town.