Group Reminds Hall of Famer That Great Athletes Deserve Respect, Not Death, When They Can No Longer Perform
For Immediate Release:
May 5, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Louisville, KY - Today, PETA sent a letter to Fox professional football commentator and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw urging him to support the group's Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Fund proposal, which would help fund the retirement of the more than 10,000 thoroughbred racehorses who are slaughtered every year for dog food and even for overseas human consumption. In the letter, PETA asks Bradshaw—whose racehorse Mission Impazible shares a grandsire in common with Coming Home, the horse PETA rescued this week from impending slaughter—to write to The Jockey Club in support of the retirement fund proposal. PETA points out that Bradshaw—who won four Super Bowl titles in six years with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s—could use his position as a thoroughbred owner to help end the casual slaughter of these often terrified and high-strung horses.
"Mr. Bradshaw can appreciate the tremendous effort that it takes to become a great athlete, and we hope that he will support saving racehorses who gave their all from ending up on a meat hook," says PETA Vice President Kathy Guillermo. "Sparing 10,000 racehorses every year from a terrifying journey to their deaths could be more satisfying to a kind person than any Super Bowl victory."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Terry Bradshaw follows.
May 5, 2011
To: Terry Bradshaw c/o
Bob Gersh
From: Kathy
Guillermo
Dear Mr. Bradshaw,
We're writing to you about a tragic life-and-death issue because we know that you care about thoroughbreds and about horse racing. Last week, we rescued a mare named Coming Home from a meat buyer just hours before she was to be shipped to slaughter. Coming Home's grandsire, like that of your horse Mission Impazible, is Unbridled. Coming Home was foaled in 2005, ran 16 times, and then was abandoned to a livestock auction and certain death―until we stepped in. We know that you understand how beautiful these animals are. You've witnessed how they give racing everything they've got. But for their all-out effort, 10,000 thoroughbreds every year are rewarded with a terrifying and painful death in a slaughterhouse.
For decades, most of the racing world has turned its back on these great athletes when their usefulness and profitability came to an end. We believe that this must change immediately, and we've come up with a plan―the Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Retirement Fund―to jumpstart this effort. This proposal, which we’ve submitted to the Jockey Club, would require a mandatory $360 retirement fee for every registration of a foal, stallion, or broodmare and for every transfer of ownership. This is affordable for thoroughbred owners and would generate more than $20 million toward retirement every year.
Will you help these thoroughbreds by writing to the Jockey Club in support of the Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Retirement Fund? As a high-profile thoroughbred owner and a great athlete yourself, you are in a wonderful position to help save the lives of thousands of horses. I would be happy to send you our proposal if you wish to take a closer look.
Thank you very much. I look forward to hearing from you soon on this urgent matter.
Warmest regards,
Kathy Guillermo
PETA