PETA Now Calling the Shots as Welfare Crisis Escalates

And the hits just keep on coming: the FEI’s already poor reputation as a regulator has taken a further dent after it bowed to the world’s most influential animal rights organisation, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) over rollkur.

On Saturday, the FEI retroactively gave a yellow warning card to Brazilian eventer Carlos Parro for working his horse Safira in an over-bent frame during a training session at the Paris horse park – after PETA intervened.

FEI stewards had apparently missed it earlier in the week, though images had been widely shared from the Facebook page of Parro’s owners and drawn to the FEI’s attention by other people by Thursday, HorseSport understands.

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Yet the FEI only announced the yellow card on Saturday, following a letter from PETA’s senior vice president Kathy Guillermo. She expressly mentioned rollkur, calling it “egregious” and listing physiological impacts on the horse. She provided two Facebook pictures from different moments of the training session.

The letter reads:

“Dear Mr. De Vos:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our international entities to urge you to investigate an apparent violation of FEI rules, as well as an egregious disregard for the FEI fundamental welfare guidelines and principles. The rider and horse appear to be Carlos Parro and Safira on the Brazilian eventing team, and this should be confirmed by the FEI. As you can see in the attached photographs, which were sent to PETA yesterday, the hyperflexion of the horse’s neck is so severe that it appears deformed.

As you know, this is prohibited. Rollkur compromises breathing, damages the spine, and leads to long-term health issues. The pain this horse must be enduring is almost unimaginable and must not be tolerated.

We hope by now that the safety committee has acted and eliminated Parro (if that is indeed who the rider is) from competition, and that it has conducted a thorough veterinary examination of the horse. If this has not been done, we ask that you take immediate action to prevent further abuse of this horse.

Allowing the team to go forward would be an endorsement of cruelty. The public is unlikely to accept this, as illustrated by the mass outrage over the Charlotte Dujardin abuse video. May I hear from you about this? Thank you.

Respectfully,

Kathy Guillermo, Senior Vice President”

The FEI announced on Saturday, “The FEI Officials have issued a yellow warning card as the action of the athlete could have caused unnecessary discomfort to the horse.

“Additionally, the Ground Jury has directly addressed the situation with the athlete and the chef d’equipe of Brazil. The FEI Stewards are aware of this incident and will be vigilant at all times for any behaviour that is not in line with horse welfare and are prepared to take immediate action if such behaviour occurs.”

While the FEI did not repeat the words rollkur or hyperflexion, there is no doubt this is what it is talking about. This is the first time the FEI has used the words “unnecessary discomfort” in a response to a media query about rollkur. This puts hyperflexion within the definition of horse abuse under ARt 142 of FEI General Regulations.

That may give confidence to those considering submitting current or historic photo evidence of other riders. But some are unconvinced by the FEI’s occasional invitations to the public to report abuse: Oslo-based photographer Crispin Parelius Johannessen has captured rollkur and “blue tongue” incidents at CDIs in northern Europe for several years and in March offered to visit FEI HQ in Lausanne with some of his 100,000 images. He told HorseSport there was no response.

The yellow card development is significant in other ways. It is highly unusual for the FEI to intervene over warning cards retroactively; they are usually field-of-play sanctions issued on the spot by officials. Despite pledges of improved welfare measures at Paris, FEI officials at Paris either missed Parro’s training session, or did see it but failed to act, despite expectations they would be on high alert following the Dujardin crisis.

Secondly, this yellow card will be attributed to eventing, not dressage. Following the “blue tongue” exposés by Epona TV in Denmark 15 years ago, there has been a growing anti-hyperflexion campaign from within the dressage community. But FEI HQ and dressage officials on the ground have done little to enforce its own rollkur ban in warm-ups, with suspected practioners marked-up in competition. Across the world, in the past 12 months just six yellow cards have been handed out in FEI dressage for largely undetailed rule breaches. Only one of these is believed to be for rollkur.

Some of the same officials will be on duty when Grand Prix dressage gets underway; their heightened vigilance remains to be seen.

Parro’s owners removed the pictures from their own social media and have issued no comment about the yellow card.

PETA has previously focussed its equine interests on horse racing. While many are pleased it has prodded the FEI into action, there will be mixed feelings about PETA’s increased scrutiny of equestrian sport. PETA had already demanded the removal of equestrianism from the Olympics after the Dujardin revelations, but is known to disagree with the use of all animals for sport or leisure.

For the sixth day, top sports writers are still covering the crisis around ethics in equestrianism and are visiting the horse park more than usual. They have put some eventing riders on the spot, while Isabell Werth has called for a change in culture.

But generally, senior judges and administrators have remained quiet.

German master bereiter and veterinarian Dr. Gerd Heuschman is a prominent member of Xenophon, an organisation aiming to restore classical values. He spoke for many in his open letter to the FEI and the German federation today.

He articulated the frustration and bewilderment so many feel about the FEI’s inaction and concluded, “Every equestrian knows (you don’t have to be a veterinarian) that these horses suffer tremendous physical and psychological damage. Riding is aesthetics and a form of art, not a crude, sloppy craft that requires bulky upper arms!

“I think the 2024 Olympics might give you [FEI] one last ( perhaps) chance to rigorously weed out the abusers and bullies and send them home with a warning. If you fail to set a REAL example yet again, the equestrian Olympic events will likely be history.

“Moreover, the equestrian sport and riding clubs are slowly running out of members. Many are fed up with this c***.

“You’re basically doing away with yourself. Please take a closer look at your rules and abide by them. Have the courage to finally get your act together and make a stand – for our horses!”