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🇫🇮 Finland /Culture & Society

Horse sports are not ethical

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Opinion Sources not specified Context piece
  • A reader argues that horse sports are unethical, stating that horses suffer in various settings and are not mere hobby equipment.
  • The opinion piece criticizes the 34 million euros in state support for horse breeding and sports, calling for more ethical hobby choices.
  • The author, a philosophy graduate, asserts that horse racing and riding facilities are businesses that should not receive public funding.

Horses are living beings, not tools for recreation, and they suffer in transport, on race tracks, and in breeding and riding facilities, according to a reader's opinion piece in Helsingin Sanomat. The author argues that horse breeding and sports receive a significant 34 million euros in state support, even as other sectors face cuts.

Living beings like horses are not hobby equipment. Horses suffer in transport carts, on race tracks, in breeding farms, and in riding stables.

— Kaisa VäisänenThe author's core argument against horse sports.

The piece contends that the love expressed by racing and riding enthusiasts is not genuine, as true affection does not involve captivity, coercion, ownership, or the pursuit of profit. It highlights that horses, as prey animals, often do not visibly display their suffering.

Love is not genuine, because the essence of love does not involve captivity, coercion, ownership, or the pursuit of profit.

— Kaisa VäisänenCritiquing the notion of 'love' for horses by enthusiasts.

Furthermore, the author asserts that race tracks, breeding farms, and riding stables operate as businesses and should not be subsidized by the state. The argument that these facilities provide employment is deemed weak. The opinion piece concludes by stating it is time to let horses go and for humans to choose more ethical hobbies.

Race tracks, horse breeding farms, and riding stables are businesses, and they should not be given state money.

— Kaisa VäisänenArguing against public funding for the horse industry.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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