Guernsey horse racing course criticised by Animal Aid

A Guernsey horse racing course has been criticised by a UK animal welfare charity following an inspection.

Dene Stansall, of Animal Aid, said the route at L'Ancresse Common in the north of the island was not fit for purpose.

He said: "It's outdated, its ground maintenance is very poor... it's very unsafe for the horses that are running on that course."

The President of the Guernsey Race Club at the time, Jim Jamouneau, said the course was safe and had been inspected.

He told BBC News that the club was supported by the GSPCA and the course was approved by the Jockey Club.
'Very dangerous'

Races take place annually in Guernsey and the event in 2011 saw one horse put down after suffering an injury to its leg.

Mr Stansall told BBC News: "The short bends that make up the course means it's very dangerous for horses, jockeys and indeed spectators.

"The course is only seven metres wide and spectators are right up on the rails."

He said the course in Guernsey did not meet European race course standards.

The 2011 event was eventually called off after two races in the interest of the animals' safety, following extensive downpours.

Calls were made at the time by the Horse Welfare Guernsey group to have local horse racing banned. (from BBC)

The course used to be okay so suddenly its not okay. You are not forced to race your horse at the event and you are not forced to go and watch at the rails.

Live and let live people.

the course has never been okay, its always been full of holes, uneven etc, even if you threw thousands of pounds at the course it would still be dangerous because of the layout (turns etc) and thats fine saying live and let live people, but horses have died on that course and if theres another race there possibly another one will as well . if we were in the uk we would have been taken to court , but no-one seems to want to admit to the fact that the race killed a horse, in torrential rain and strong winds, just for a bit of entertainment, not one person has even said sorry to the horses owner ! shame on you !

The owner knows the risk, horses have died on most race courses, even those with flat even surfaces. Incidently how many have died at L'Ancresse. Or was the last race the first time, hence the shouting, how much shouting was made before the horse died?

this isnt the first one to die at l`ancresse which gives us a higher ratio of horse racing deaths than the uk ! ive been shouting about horse racing (and other animal cruelty issues) since i was about 6 .