A decision by the travel website TripAdvisor to prevent the sale of tickets and experiences associated with British live horse racing events on its platforms has been called "surprising and troubling" by the British Horseracing Authority, which has written to the company asking it to reconsider the classification.
While racecourses and associated reviews remain listed on the United States-based travel website, the pages feature a message stating, "this business does not currently meet Tripadvisor's Animal Welfare Policy." BloodHorse found this same message added to reviews of North American tracks such as Saratoga Race Course, which just completed a meeting with impressive equine safety numbers.
Other racing-related listings, such as the Irish National Stud and the National Horse Racing Museum, do not carry the message. Similar experiences in the U.S. also do not include a warning. In fact some of these experiences, such as Central Kentucky's Claiborne Farm, have a note that says, "This business meets Tripadvisor's Animal Welfare Policy."
In its policy, TripAdvisor outlines that it will not allow ticket sales or generate booking revenue from "specific experiences where domesticated animals are put at heightened risk of injury or death for the sake of sport or entertainment," listing horse and greyhound racing among the examples.
James Given, the BHA's director of equine regulation, safety and welfare, said the move "does not reflect how British racing actually operates or the safety and welfare standards that underpin the sport."
READ: Officials Praise Safety Numbers at Saratoga Meeting
Given also said British racing operated transparently with information on welfare published on the HorsePWR platform, and that the "levels of risk to horses running at racecourses are continually low and the sport is constantly working to further reduce avoidable risk."
He added: "The millions of people who enjoy British racing each year do so in the knowledge that the sport is underpinned by rigorous standards, delivered by licensed professionals and independently verified welfare oversight."
A leading animal welfare charity said TripAdvisor's decision was evidence that the sport needed to continually maintain and improve welfare standards. World Horse Welfare acts as an independent adviser to the BHA and supports the responsible use of horses in sport, but said TripAdvisor "would have listened to its market in taking this approach."
WHW chief executive Roly Owers said: "TripAdvisor's new policy is a clear example of what public acceptance means in practice. The company is transparent in saying that its policy was developed in part to drive improvements in animal welfare standards, but it would have listened to its market in taking this approach."
Both the Racecourse Association and the Horse Welfare Board said TripAdvisor should review its classification of racecourses, with HWB chair Dame Minette Batters claiming it was "misleading and does a disservice to the decades of investment, science and independent oversight that underpin equine welfare in British racing."
TripAdvisor did not respond to a request for comment.
BloodHorse added to this story, to note TripAdvisor had added an animal welfare warning to reviews of North American tracks.
