Urge Racetrack to Cancel Cruel Zebra and Ostrich Races

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BACKGROUND

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, a racetrack and casino in New Orleans, will be holding zebra and ostrich races on January 12. Mounted by jockeys and subjected to rough handling amid chaos and screaming crowds, these terrified animals are forced to race around a track—a miserable ordeal that causes them fear and stress and can result in serious injuries.

Animals used for “entertainment” in traveling acts suffer terribly and need your voice! These zebras and ostriches endure constant anxiety, physical discomfort, and frustration—and they are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them.

Please urge Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots management to cancel these cruel races and replace them with a humane alternative.



WHOM TO CONTACT

Send polite comments to:

Block

tim.bryant@fgno.com , eric.halstrom@fgno.com


Individual:

Tim Bryant
President
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
1751 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70119
tim.bryant@fgno.com
504-944-2511

Eric Halstrom
Vice President and General Manager of Racing
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
eric.halstrom@fgno.com


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear President Bryant and Vice President Halstrom,

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will be holding zebra and ostrich races on January 12, and I am requesting that this plan be immediately terminated due to the inherent cruelty the animals experience.

Please allow me to elaborate. Mounted by jockeys and subjected to rough handling amid chaos and screaming crowds, these terrified animals are forced to race around a track — a miserable ordeal that causes them fear and stress and can result in serious injuries. Animals used for “entertainment” in traveling acts suffer terribly. These zebras and ostriches endure constant anxiety, physical discomfort, and frustration; they are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them.

I hope you make the compassionate decision to discontinue the negligence of these animals and reject complicity in the unethical industry that profits from their suffering. However, as long as Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots continues to unnecessarily capitalize on the exploitation and maltreatment of animals, I will not financially support you. It is important to recognize that consumers and tourists are increasingly rejecting those companies that are complicit in the suffering and unnecessary treatment of animals by shifting their loyalties to those that do not participate in the exploitation of animals, and I hope that you will extend such an ethical and empathetic gesture as well.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent appeal.

NAME

We run in the wild
To stay alive,
But we do not
to run in your cruel
Racetrack jive !

Karen Lyons Kalmenson