EVEN CHILDREN engage in this BLOOD-SPORT - blinding horses and donkeys and forcing them to race until they collapse in pain!

Illegal bush horse racing is a terrible scourge in poverty-stricken parts of the Northern Cape in South Africa. In this horrifically cruel “sport,” horses and donkeys are forced to race each other while spectators bet money on who will win. There is zero concern for animal welfare. Horses and donkeys are pushed to the brink, and it takes a shocking toll on their bodies. To force them to go faster, riders flog them with wire whips that lacerate their flesh, causing terrible wounds.

To make them easier to “control”, donkeys and horses are captured, and one eye is gouged out with a stick! We MUST confiscate these helpless animals from the criminals who do this to them.

It gets worse…

The poor creatures are forced to endure race after race with no rest or medical care; frequently, they are ridden so hard that their legs break, or they collapse from exhaustion and are left to suffer in excruciating pain.

Unsurprisingly, this makes horses and donkeys wary of humans, and they often try to run away. To avoid this from happening, when an animal is caught, an eye is gouged out to make it easier to capture from its blind side the next time they want these equines to race

This blood sport is increasingly popular amongst callous local people - even children as young as 13 are encouraged to take part in the cruelty. The horses’ physical condition and health are of no concern to their owners, so the animals receive no medical care. If they die - so what? They often just steal another one.

Our partner Have A Heart Equine Sanctuary (HAHES) routinely rescues horses and donkeys from this disgusting “sport”. Recently, HAHES received a tip-off about a mother horse named Sundance and her two-week-old foal, Gracie. They were being raced for money, and HAHES was determined to save them.

By a stroke of luck, HAHES spotted the pair wandering along the side of a busy road and immediately loaded both horses into its horse box and moved them to safety. But that was only the beginning…

HAHES uncovered a massive illegal bush racing ring and devastating scenes of more than 50 neglected equines with no water or shelter, with their feet bound together.

What HAHES has uncovered requires our IMMEDIATE action!

Not only are the horses and donkeys neglected, hungry and dehydrated, but they are painfully “hobbled.” Hobbling immobilizes animals by tying two of their legs together. While hobbling isn’t always considered abusive, it certainly is in this case - illegal racers use straps or wire that chafe and slice painfully into the animals’ skin, causing deep cuts and infections. Eventually, it becomes impossible for the animal to walk normally.

We MUST confiscate as many of these equines as we can and get them to safety. With your support right now, that is exactly what we’ll do.

Horses and donkeys are considered livestock in South Africa. Even though bush racing is absolutely illegal, the police have other priorities. The animals are on their own, with only the support of animal lovers like you to help them.

We need to confiscate these animals NOW and rehabilitate them once they reach safety - a mission that comes at a cost, but every cent will be worth it for these cruelly abused animals, and we know you’ll agree.

Please help us to raise the $10,000 (£9,053) we need to rescue these animals as quickly as possible and get them to safety. These beautiful and innocent animals do not deserve this life, and the people meting out this torture do not deserve to own them, let alone steal them. We must remove them, and fast.

HAHES has the power to seize the animals, but we need help to cover the costs of transporting these creatures and treating and rehabilitating them once they are safe. Please don’t let them suffer a moment longer.

For the animals,

Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals

P.S. Please will you help us change the lives of helpless horses and donkeys who, right now, have no one else helping them? For some of these poor creatures, we are too late, but we have a chance to help the rest. Please, don’t let them down. Can we count on your support today?

Banner credit: Have A Heart Equine Sanctuary