RTÉ to broadcast major investigation into treatment of horses

RTÉ is to broadcast a major new investigation examining the Irish and European horse industries over two nights next week.

Using hidden cameras, journalists with RTÉ Investigates exposed the abuse horses can suffer after they leave the racing spotlight. The team went inside the equine industry to show how some of these horses are slaughtered in Ireland, while others are given new identities and traded in deals across Europe.

The investigation exposes evidence of systemic flaws in the traceability of horses and details how this threatens the human food chain across Europe. The work has already prompted investigations across the continent.

In Ireland, RTÉ Investigates analysed data which allowed, for the first time, anyone to profile the background of horses that were sent for slaughter. It has never been possible to fully see the link between the racing and slaughter industries until now.

The data allowed RTÉ Investigates journalists to track back and identify thousands of horses that passed through Ireland’s only licensed horse abattoir. The majority of the horses were thoroughbred racers, competitors who between them had raced more than 3,000 times, earning their owners more than €1.5 million on tracks across Ireland, the UK, and France as well multiples of that for punters.

Professor Christopher Elliot, founder of Queen’s University Belfast’s Institute for Global Food Security was shown footage captured during the investigation. “I’ve visited lairages and slaughterhouses for probably about 45 years,” he said, “I have never seen anything like this. This is … like nothing I have seen ever experienced before it just is unbelievably distressing.”

The conclusions of a wide-ranging investigation will be revealed in a major hour-long documentary, ‘RTÉ Investigates: Horses – Making a Killing’ to be broadcast Wednesday night, 12 June at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.

An additional special report on Prime Time on Thursday night broadcasts at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.

Both the documentary and special report will be available to stream live and catch up on the RTÉ Player to viewers across Europe. A trailer for the report is available to watch on Youtube here.