Opinions please! Emaciated and lame horse on TV.

That's horrendous and I'm glad that you reported it. You can include my comments too - I appreciate that not all horses can have the living standards that some of us are used to but that horse was OBVIOUSLY horribly skinny and lame. There is no way that the broadcasters/cameramen/whoever can have failed to notice that, not unless they were all blind.
 
I will be forwarding this to the BBC later today. Please add a comment if you would like your thoughts /opinions included.

Thank you. :)
 
not denying that there isn't horses like this all over the world however the producers should never allowed that horse to be shown on TV let alone ridden, they should of called the welfare in or donated cash for veterinary care as they used that family for TV ratings! and BBC for showing saying that my faith in BBC is waring out tbh

utterly disgusting and not acceptable poor animal
 
Something else to bear in mind is when any type of television is made, a few seconds clip may have actually taken much, much longer to shoot. The producers may deny it, but I would suspect they rehearsed and used that horse for a lot longer than the final footage shows. In fact it would be very unusual if they didn't.

Even so called 'documentaries' are all rehearsed and fixed. My work was involved in an episode of Inside Out a few years ago, and they took 3 days to shoot what became 10 minutes footage. They repeated one sequence, which was supposed to be catching someone off the cuff about 8 times. We've also been partially involved with several other daytime DIY/lifestyle type programmes, and again it takes them a week of repetitive sequence filming to produce a smooth 25 minute show.
 
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Disgusting footage, totally unnecessary IMO, this is what our licence fees are spent on ?
The boy seemed appalled as well, what a pity the BBC felt the need to broadcast this, as for the reply you received, pathetic arse covering ! Take it further..........contact newspapers and other media, didn't the BBC do a report on JG (quite rightly) ? Shows them up as hypocrites and uncaring for animal welfare.........Please keep me updated on this,
Thank you for bringing it to our attention x
 
My hand went straight to my mouth as that poor animal appeared on screen - I've never seen a horse in such a bad condition where people are unwilling to accept the truth. It's emaciated, dog lame and should be taken off them if they're still allowing people to ride the poor thing!!
 
I am horrified that the BBC has filmed and broadcasted this and have the same concerns as above that this short clip may have been rehearsed. I appreciate that in some countries horses don't receive the same treatment as ours and these people may have very little money but there was no NEED for that horse to be ridden and I cannot imagine the excruitating pain it would have been caused. I am shocked at the BBC and I would seriously hope they have the sense to investiagte this further.
 
I too was concerned to see an emaciated and obviously in pain horse used for the family's entertainment. The poor animal looked like it needed putting out of its misery, not used as a toy. Even somebody without any equine knowledge could see that the animal was suffering, how this could be filmed without a member of the crew intervening I don't know, and then to be shown on our screens as something perfectly acceptable was shocking.
 
Its heartbreaking to think the producers / directors / camera men and all involved were so blazay about the welfare of that poor horse. Obviously they just wanted to get filming out of the way, with no thoughts on how lame or malnourished it was. I hope they didnt just play the documentary card.
 
Well one thing you can be sure of is that horse is now out of its miserable existance.
I should imagine that the program was filmed many months ago and no way would it have survived that long, it would not have received the veterinary care that it so much needed, there will be many more animals in the same condition who will also not get any treatment. Its a poor country and the life of humans is fragile, so why would they think about animal welfare when human life is worthless.
 
QUICKFIRE said:
Well one thing you can be sure of is that horse is now out of its miserable existance.
I should imagine that the program was filmed many months ago and no way would it have survived that long, it would not have received the veterinary care that it so much needed, there will be many more animals in the same condition who will also not get any treatment. Its a poor country and the life of humans is fragile, so why would they think about animal welfare when human life is worthless.
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But it was filmed for this country - where we do have supposedly better welfare standards. I agree that human welfare should take priority, but the family didn't seem particularly destitute (haven't watched the whole programme so could be wrong) and it was for entertainment purposes for a British audience and that is what is so wrong about it.
 
when i first read the title i thought it wouldnt be that bad considing its broadcasted on the tv . but once watching the clip, im very discusted . why in the hell did they allow this to happen let a lone broadcast it ,
 
OMG!!!!!! im so horrified! that poor horse, i would definitely complain, poor or not that horse shouldn't be in that condition, if they can't afford to feed it then give it to someone who can!
 
Disgusting. That poor horse, this should not have been shown and you would have thought the tv crew would have realised horses are not meant to look like that and could have reported it.

Poor little thing! :( xx
 
I think we should have the contact information to complain to the BBC as 2 heads are better than one, i for sure would put in a complaint if i knew how! could you please put up a link or who to complain to thanks
 
I understand that for people who live in much poorer countries than we do, animal welfare can be a luxury they find hard to afford.
However, I don't think it is acceptable that the BBC should portray someone riding an animal which is so clearly emaciated, sick, and extremely lame for the purposes of its programmes.
I also felt it was unacceptable that the letter the OP received suggested that she had unattainably high standards/expectations, rather than accepting their poor judgement (or possible lack of knowledge) for filming such a sick animal.
Perhaps, as has been suggested, something could be done to improve the animal's welfare (if still alive) through charities local to Belize?
S :D
 
I'm horrified. I appreciate that Belize is a poor country, where animal welfare is secondary to that of its human population. The BBC, however, should know better.

OP, I'm quite frankly disgusted by the response. Why is it written in a chatty, informal manner? It's supposed to address a complaint raised in respect of a serious issue FFS! The tone is condescending and disrespectful. Not to mention the fact that the content is utter bs.

Probably written by the work experience pleb, because no one else could be bothered to respond :(

Since they have the name of the programme wrong, can we even be sure that they are replying with reference to the correct footage?
 
Beckie65 said:
I think we should have the contact information to complain to the BBC as 2 heads are better than one, i for sure would put in a complaint if i knew how! could you please put up a link or who to complain to thanks
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Ok.

I was emailed by Ciaran McConnell at complaintresponse@bbc.co.uk the reference number is 131971.

Here is the Email again (it is in the first post of this thread too), plaese note that they didn't even get the name of the programme correct.

Thanks for your e-mail regarding ‘Wags, Kids and World Cup Dreams’ broadcast on 9 June.


Firstly, please accept our apologies for the delay in replying. We know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we are sorry you have had to wait on this occasion.


I understand you felt it was inappropriate for a lame horse to be ridden at the end of the programme as the weight may’ve been painful for the animal to withstand.


Animal cruelty is a subject we take extremely seriously and we’d never broadcast any programme that appears to condone or encourage any behaviour that could be construed as abusive towards an animal. We wouldn’t have broadcast this piece if we had felt the horse was suffering due to its being ridden.


While we try to provide a wide range of programmes across our television output that'll be of interest to every section of our audience, there'll inevitably be times, hopefully rare, when what's on offer doesn't meet your own particular standards and I'm sorry that you've been disappointed on this occasion.


Nevertheless, feedback like your own helps to inform the discussion about a programme's tone and content and the reactions of our audiences are closely studied by our producers and senior management to ensure the right judgement is being made about what is acceptable to the audience in general.


With this in mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to assure you that I’ve recorded your comments onto our audience log. This is an internal daily report of audience feedback which is circulated to many BBC staff including senior management, producers and channel controllers.


The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.


Thanks once again for taking the time to contact us.


Kind Regards

Ciaran McConnell

I will be emailing my reply later today and if anyone feels strongly enough to complain they could email the above address or use http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/
 
xena_wales said:
"We wouldn’t have broadcast this piece if we had felt the horse was suffering due to its being ridden."
What???? Poor, poor horse :(
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Quite.

Would the BBC perhaps show a starving, ill, child being put to work ?

I don't agree with censorship, but their response has grated on me.

Anyone [whether horse connected or not] can see that horse is very ill and in distress, this made it distressing viewing for me as it tantamount to animal cruelty.

I don't care that other horses "work " in this state in the third world, charities are helping all they can with that, who is helping this poor bugger, whom the BBC deem fit to work despite the bones jutting from its body, and broadcast as being quite acceptable practice.

Disgusting.

Didn't watch the programme, just that clip, don't care who they are or what there problem is - clearly they have one to jump on an emaciated animal. poor sod needs putting out of its misery if it can't be helped.
 
That was just sickening. That poor horse was most definitely a welfare case even before they put someone on his back. I don't think it matters a jot that the country is poor, this filming was for the BBC and they certainly aren't short of a few bob. The decent thing for them to do when they saw this horse was to get him some help, not stick someone on him to ride.

Quote 'Animal cruelty is a subject we take extremely seriously and we’d never broadcast any programme that appears to condone or encourage any behaviour that could be construed as abusive towards an animal. We wouldn’t have broadcast this piece if we had felt the horse was suffering due to its being ridden.'

this is the quote that got me. Of course the animal was suffering, it was in too much pain to walk and even to put a saddle on such an emaciated animal would cause it suffering. Shame on the BBC, obviously they don't care, as long as they get the programme made.
 
Sadly, these days the BBC will drop its pants to get an audience and they don't seem too fussed about attracting an equestrian audience judging by the scheduling. Whatever happened to standards?
 
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if the BBC are on about a completely different programme and are therefore responding based on entirely different footage. How could anyone fail to observe the suffering of this poor animal?

Anyone know if the show they mention, ‘Wags, Kids and World Cup Dreams’ DID actually feature a horse when it was aired on the 9th of June?
 
Spudlet said:
That horse was not in a fit condition to be ridden. It is clearly very underweight and lame.

In this country, someone riding a horse in such poor condition could be liable for prosecution under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for causing unnecessary suffering.

While clearly in some developing countries welfare standards are lower than in this country, as impoverished owners need their horses to work to feed their families, this does not appear to be the case here, as the boy had no pressing need to ride that horse.

It is my opinion that the BBC acted poorly in broadcasting this footage, without proper regard for animal welfare.
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Well said.OP you could contact the Human Society of America as well as WHW.
That horse is is dire need of help,poor thing!!!
 
I have sent a reply to the BBC.

Here it is:

Dear Ciaran McConnell,

I am very disappointed with your reply.

You have not even got the name of the programme concerned correct. My complaint is relating to the emaciated and severely lame horse that was ridden during the Belize episode of 'World's strictest parents'.

Please watch the correct footage, here is a link to help you (the horse is at 2.10).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eijRIzNDQQY

You said, 'Animal cruelty is a subject we take extremely seriously and we’d never broadcast any programme that appears to condone or encourage any behaviour that could be construed as abusive towards an animal. We wouldn’t have broadcast this piece if we had felt the horse was suffering due to its being ridden.'

I have posted a link to the video and and a copy of your letter on the 'Horse and Hound' forum. You can view the thread here: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=385277

There is no doubt from the responses (remember these are knowledgable equine people) that the horse was suffering due to malnutrition and pain due to severe lameness and that the weight of the rider increased the animals suffering.

Here are some of the posts for you;

'That horse is suffering whether ridden or not, looks terrible. Obviously in alot of pain. Did the cameramen not have eyes,or a concience?? It looks skeletal no animal expertise is needed to see that. I could not believe the clip when I saw it. Disgusting.'

and


' Jesus christ. When I read the post I didn't think the horse would be this bad!

For those who can't bear to watch 'worlds strictest parent'. Go straight to 2.10. The horse is pretty emaciated and to me looks about 9 tenths lame, which is serious and the animal would be in agony!

That horse needs worming, feeding and should be receiving veterinary treatment, and the programme should be fined for encouraging that family to take advantage of the horse in the way it did. I'm sorry, yes, they are obviously poor people, living in a third world country and of course I know this goes on, but FFS, this is an ‘entertainment’ programme and you simply cannot make and broadcast 'entertainment' in the UK at the expense of animal neglect and welfare.'

and


'That horse was not in a fit condition to be ridden. It is clearly very underweight and lame.

In this country, someone riding a horse in such poor condition could be liable for prosecution under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for causing unnecessary suffering.

While clearly in some developing countries welfare standards are lower than in this country, as impoverished owners need their horses to work to feed their families, this does not appear to be the case here, as the boy had no pressing need to ride that horse.

It is my opinion that the BBC acted poorly in broadcasting this footage, without proper regard for animal welfare. '

and


'I too was concerned to see an emaciated and obviously in pain horse used for the family's entertainment. The poor animal looked like it needed putting out of its misery, not used as a toy. Even somebody without any equine knowledge could see that the animal was suffering, how this could be filmed without a member of the crew intervening I don't know, and then to be shown on our screens as something perfectly acceptable was shocking'


Please read the whole thread as there are far too many posts for me to paste onto this email.

If you do not take this seriously I will happily get a vet to bodyscore the horse's condition, lameness and suffering and forward everything to the RSPCA.

It is not Ok to use an animal's suffering as entertainment.

In the programme the boy says 'no, not that one, that one's horrible!' Was this horse chosen for him to ride because of his strong reaction to it (and therefore better TV)? If they had other horses there that were not 'horrible' (and I assume by that he meant emaciated) why wasn't he put on a horse in better condition? Why didn't the crew stop this? Was the horse given any treatment and food?

I look forward to your reply.

Hopefully he will read this thread so if you want to add your opinion please do so. :)
 
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