Irish Examiner View: Exporting old or injured horses has to be called into question

Difficult times for Irish racing following Panorama documentary

Racing will inevitably suffer a backlash following the screening of last night’s BBC Panorama programme filmed covertly at the only British abattoir licensed to shoot racehorses, the majority of them from these shores.

Many of the principal accusations were sent out on a press release on Sunday — a standard audience-building and appetite-whetting technique — and are designed to sow disenchantment about an industry which brings pleasure to millions, is an important employer and wealth-creator in the Republic, and which contributes to the image of the nation.