BBC2 HORSE PEOPLE - PLEASE RING THE BBC AND COMPLAIN

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thea1

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Can't believe what I just saw .... was almost sick when they showed a mare strangled / beaten to death and then skinned. Was it really necessary to show this in such graphic detail - even if a warning was given at the start of the programme. Please please ring up the BBC and log a complaint.
 
I have also just watched the programe and did find the scenes distressing, however that is how those people live and that sort of thing goes on all over the world. Up untill that point the horse had lived a long a stress free life and whilst the way in which it was killed is not one that we, as westerners would carry out, thease people know no other way.

I personally don't believe a complaint to the BBC is warranted.
 
I also don't think a complaint is warranted. I watched the program and although that scene was unpleasant and upsetting, it was also only a small part of a program which showed us a glimpse into a different cultures lifestyle and relationship with horses.

It was clear to me that these people cared about their horses and looked after them and treated them well.

To be honest stories like the one futher down this page like the dog that was tied up and left to die, upset me more. That is deliberate and mindless cruelty and torture. I do not think the program showed that these people were cruel.

I do think that there are definately kinder ways of killing an animal but these men have limited resources at their disposal and were killing for a purpose not for no reason or for fun.
 
Thank you TicTac and Muffinino! common sense prevails.

I thought it was a fair representation of their way of life, and the girl did her best to show it as she saw it, but balanced by their justifications, beliefs, and culture.

and, surely she was the one up close and personal, not us lot sat some 1000's of miles away!
 
I also watched it, and yes it was distressing to watch, but it was a documentary made by a horse lover (who was obviously upset) showing how these people live. There was plenty of warning about what it was going to contain.

Personally I found it fascinating as well as distressing, and no, I will not complain about the bbc opening our eyes to how people live hard lives in harsh environments. After watching things like that I realise how easy and soft our lives are!
 
I agree it was hard to stomach, but I'm not so sure that it warrants complaints.
I watched because I wanted to know. I kind of wish I hadn't, but the warnings were there.
It's how these people live. I don't think we should be shielded from the realities. There is an off button.

I did wonder, though, don't they have guns?
 
I was sick and i cried BUT i wont complain becose it was really interesting, and we cant impose our culture onto other people, i made the choice to watch it even after the warning
 
perhaps the warning might have been contained in some of the promotional items as well then. I tuned in late because i was watching the football so missed the beginning and didnt care for the completely graphic way the horse was dying as i turned over.
and while it is true that this is the reality, I am getting a little tired of this defense. I am wondering where good sense and common decency has gone from a great many programmes. God sake, in Hollywood the companies have to put a little note on films saying no animal was hurt etc, but the in the name of being 'real' the BBC can do as it likes. Just when i was thinking this might be a bit of good horse PR for a change.
 
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Thank you TicTac and Muffinino! common sense prevails.

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Good gods, common sense + me? Don't let that rumour get around, people will talk!
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I did find that scene shocking as I thought it would be shot (why sattelite TV but no guns?),but there was a warning & that is the reality of those people's lives, & they will carry on.
Complaining to the BBC is unwarranted. The horses looked very well considering the harsh conditions. I think there is often more cause for concern with the way some people keep their horses here.
 
I didn't catch the very start of the programme so didn't get the benefit of the warning beforehand, otherwise I would have chosen not to watch. But are you seriously saying that the scene needed to be shown in such a detailed manner, with close ups of the distressed animal? you may be comfortable with being "educated" in this way, but I was not. Common sense?
Just a final thought; if they showed a dog in china in the same manner; how many thousands of complaints would the bbc get?
 
i dont think a complaint is necessary as i agree that they were simply giving an honest account of how these people live their lives, and therefore the only way they know and have been taught how to kill horses. it is their way of life. they cherish their horses for different reasons, btu still love them very very much

i personally did look away while they killed the mare and turned the sound off

however it did come with a warning so i dont think a complaint is warranted.

x
 
You may not have seen the warnings that were in all the write ups but it was, imo, obvious what was going to happen. It happens, fact of life.
Maybe we should cut out scenes where animals are killed in Attenborough documentaries, or edit the news so that nobody has to see poverty, famine, death in war. I do not believe in obscuring that which is fact - it may be difficult to watch, but what is there to complain about? The BBC doing what they're supposed to; providing honest programming.
 
Lucretia - you can hardly compare a hollywood film made for entertainment and big profits with an educational documentary showing a way of life.
 
I did watch the early part and I understood that is how these people live and, how they have lived for thousands of years. However, I chose not to watch any further...........my choice. I am not a bunny hugger and accept that these people need to eat the horses to survive, however, I did not wish to watch the demise of their horses....again, my choice!
 
OP I got to that point and chose to turn it off.

If you found it so distrssing, why did you not do the same?
 
Exactly, JS65, you did not like it, no problem with that, but you decided not to watch. It just gets on my nerves when people watch documentaries and complain about the content being graphic or offensive - it's real life!

Films, entertainment programmes are different, if they are offensive then somebody has sat down and written it. If something like this doc has been filmed and nothing added, it's fact. If you choose not to watch it, fair enough, but complaining it is offensive is like complaining life is offensive, when it's just being shown as it can be - brutal, harsh and tough.
 
which is exactly my point. in one of those blockbusting films, they are required to state it was not reality. I am sorry that so many people think it is fine to show an animal suffering for no other reason than entertainment dressed up as 'education'. if you had seen all the programme i am quite sure it would have been obvious what was going to happen but there was still no need for the detail as it was shown. And as it happens i didnt see any of the start, i changed channels in order to watch what i thought would be a good horse programme just in time to see axes and strangulations. Nice.
And please dont insult those invoved in wars or natural disasters by making facile comparisons. There is a need then for the world to be made aware of the plight of those suffering so something can be done to aliviate it. if the purpose of this programme was to encourage the donation of a few humane killers then fine, but to show such gory detail just for the sake of it was sickening. If the BBC put a documentary on showing the awful mexican slaughter houses on tv I would be equally shocked but at least there wuld be a good reason i.e. to raise awareness and put an end to them.
I can't really see how tonight's footage can be justified. Any more than if it was a pig or cow being slaughtered for the same purpose tbh.
 
I watched it and thought it was fascinating. I notice though that no-one here has commented on the wolf trapping which was also quite horrible. I admit I looked away when the Mare was killed - it was pretty obvious it would be nasty. But, do you know what, I'm glad they show these things. If they didn't we'd have no concept of how other cultures live.

These Horses were clearly loved dearly and looked after very well (better than a lot of meat animals that we eat I'm sure). They said that Mare had failed to have a foal for 4 years so they gave her a pretty good chance I'd say. The death could definately have been more humane that's for sure but that's their way of life.

I was watching them skin the wolf (cringing) and thinking at least it's been killed first. I got an email just the other day re dogs being skinned alive and campaigning against it. No way could I bring myself to watch the link.

I don't think a complaint is necessary at all. What exactly is the complaint anyway? That we have been given an insight into the lives of people over there or about what they do? If it's the former, which I suspect it is, then I doubt the BBC will be able to do much about it.

RE warnings. There was a warning at the start and when you pressed the 'i' button on sky.
 
Having a family member that lives in Siberia 7 months of the year. I sort of feel able to comment on these people.
Kind, generous and passive. With a true love and respect, for not only their beloved horses but also the landscape and wildlife.
We only saw a snap shot of their year. Not how hard they worked to produce the feed to be able to sustain the horses through the extremely long cold. It's not like our winters, here today and gone next month. These people would not be able to survive without their horses, nor the horses without them.
We have no idea how months of -30 feels. How it effects you bodily and mentally. Life expectancy is reduced. A very hard life.
There is a spiritual connection between man and horse that really didn't come across in the programme. Both dependant on each other. Not somethng we can often say about the UK and our favoured meat animals.
 
Just to clarify; muffinino; I flicked on to the channel, saw the distressing scene and turned it off, i stayed on the channel for a maximum of around 3 minutes, I did not watch the whole programme and then decide to complain, I am not that much of a hypocrite.
 
I didn't last much longer watching the program than the wolf trapping I found that brutal, thankgoodness I hit the off button when I did.

Can someone please train them how to use a gun.

I too am horrified that so many people justify watching an animal unnecessarily suffering.

If they are really pasionate about their animals I am sure they will be open to less barbaric slaughter methods if shown how!
 
Wow; I wouldv'e thought as horse lovers; (I am an owner of a showjumper,) that people would have also found what the bbc showed as shocking, I feel it did warrant a complaint, MY OPINION, I am quite shocked that people thought it was an alright thing to show a horse being strangled with a rope. We slaughter animals in a humane way, and there are regulations to make sure the animals have a good way of life before they are killed. I don't believe that showing these horses compassion during their life is a good excuse for the way they kill them.
And to repeat, if your defence is that its their culture, showing dogs being slaughtered in china would recieve a hell of a lot of complaints, and they are tens of charities fighting the cause, how is it so different for horses, as a horse owner, I find that very hypocritcal and wrong. Again, my opinion.
 
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Just to clarify; muffinino; I flicked on to the channel, saw the distressing scene and turned it off, i stayed on the channel for a maximum of around 3 minutes, I did not watch the whole programme and then decide to complain, I am not that much of a hypocrite.

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Well, why complain then? You didn't like it so you didn't watch it.

If you'd turned on a bit earlier and watched the whole thing it might have given you a bit of context. It might not have seemed so bad overall.
 
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