HALLANDALE BEACH , FLORIDA , USA, February 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Following the report of 113 horse racing related deaths at Gulfstream Park by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan, Animal Wellness Action executive director Marty Irby, who testified before Congress in support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) that was signed into law on December 27, 2020, issued the following statement:

“It’s astounding to see the number of horse deaths at Gulfstream Park, but we’re confident the anti-doping legislation signed into law in December will curb these deaths by banning the use of Lasix, and other pain-masking and performance-enhancing drugs that run rampant in the sport. The betting public will no longer tolerate the deaths of these horses in our modern-day society, and while the Stronach Group has been at the forefront of making change within the industry there’s still much more to be done.

“It’s imperative that Stronach, and other racecourse operators and horse racing authorities evaluate and improve track surfaces and implement a ban on whipping and policies that prevent American racehorses from ending up in the slaughter pipeline, and ultimately as a slab of meat on foreign dinner plates.”

Irby, who was recently honored by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, II for his work to protect American equines led the charge within the animal protection space in support of HISA and has long been advocating to end the use of the whip, and for the passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, led by U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that would ban horse slaughter on U.S. soil, and ban the transport of American equines for the purposes of slaughter.

Animal Wellness Action (Action) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies, and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
Animal Wellness Action
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Marty Irby before the Horseracing Integrity Act hearing