While I don’t typically report on Canada (though I plan on changing that soon), I wanted to share some good news. Fraser Downs, the only harness track in British Columbia, is being shuttered effective immediately. According to a CBC report, the city of Surrey, which owns the fairgrounds on which the track sits, is terminating the lease it has with Fraser’s operators. Surrey’s mayor, Brenda Locke, says this is part of a larger plan to revitalize the fairgrounds, with possibilities that include “new housing, a $3 billion hospital, public spaces, cultural facilities and expanded recreation amenities.” Now doesn’t that sound a whole lot better than a house of animal cruelty?
Importantly, the existing casino will remain open – which is the exact course we are pursuing with racinos here in the States. We’re not against gambling, just gambling on the backs of abused and suffering animals. This closure, by the way, leaves the entire province of B.C. with but one track – Hastings – and that track also sits on public land. In fact, the CBC article notes that Hastings’ lease expires next May. So…
As a postscript, I was heartened to see the following quote on the closure from the Vancouver Humane Society, as humane societies here in the U.S. are typically reluctant to take anything but a welfarist (as opposed to abolitionist) position: “Horse racing inherently subjects horses to pressure and danger, debilitating injuries, early physical decline, and at times fatal outcomes. [This closure] is emblematic of a wider, long-overdue shift away from horse racing.” Hear, hear.
Great news!
On the same line of thought, Thurles racetrack in Ireland permanently closed on August 1.
Go British Columbia!! May their example be well-publicized and their message spread!!