Slow nags did not go to pot

15 February 2013 - 04:24 By ©The Daily Telegraph and Reuters
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Charles Massa prepares horse meat in his horse butchery in the old city of Nice, France
Charles Massa prepares horse meat in his horse butchery in the old city of Nice, France
Image: ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS

Britain's horse-racing fraternity has rejected suggestions that horses that have died on the Aintree racetrack have been caught up in the horse-meat scandal.

One of the men being questioned in connection with the scandal is contracted to remove horse carcasses at the course.

Peter Boddy, whose slaughterhouse has been closed by the UK's Food Standards Agency, has been employed at Aintree and the Haydock Park course to transport and dispose of carcasses.

An investigation by the agency found that horse carcasses had been used to make beefburgers and kebabs sold in Britain.

But health officials have said they are confident that no racehorse could enter the food chain.

Growing revelations about the use of horse meat in products labelled beef have raised questions about the safety of the European food-supply chain and have prompted governments to send out an EU-wide alert.

A British parliamentary report said discoveries so far of horse meat in products sold as beef were probably the "tip of the iceberg".

"The scale of contamination emerging in the meat supply chain is breathtaking," said Anne McIntosh, an MP who chairs the cross-party Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which published the report.

"More revelations will doubtless come to light in the UK and across the EU."

There were two fatalities at last year's Grand National - Synchronised and According To Pete - but sources said neither would have been dealt with by Boddy.

Synchronised was returned to trainer Jonjo O'Neill and According To Pete was reportedly cremated.

All racecourses must be able to collect and dispose of horses killed during a race.

When injury or accidents occur, veterinary advice must be followed, and if a horse is destroyed the carcass is usually disposed of by track staff.

Aintree press officer Nigel Payne said: "The racing industry takes every possible course of action to ensure that horses fatally injured on a racecourse cannot enter the food chain."

The British Horseracing Authority said the industry was among the "most strictly regulated of all equine activities and sports".

"This includes a range of checks and balances for horses after they leave the sport. Since 2000, every thoroughbred registered in Britain has had a microchip, enabling each and every horse to be identified," the authority said.

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