Beerbaum defends himself – “Defamatory and defamatory”
A scene from the RTL report: Ludger Beerbaum during obstacle jump training, an employee touches the front legs of the horse with a pole
Source: RTL +
The German riding star Ludger Beerbaum is faced with a serious allegation. An RTL team around Günter Wallraff reports on the forbidden training methods of the multiple Olympic champion. Beerbaum is now threatening a lawsuit.
32 years after the Schockemöhle scandal, German equestrian sport is threatened with new excitement about the parallel bars. Accusations are made against the four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum.
According to research by “RTL Extra” and the investigative journalist Günter Wallraff, there are apparently violations of animal welfare on the farm of the 58-year-old riding star. Video recordings from almost two years of research show Beerbaum jumping over an obstacle on his horse. An employee hits the animal’s front legs with a rod.
The so-called bar represents a violation of the Animal Welfare Act and is also prohibited according to the statutes of the German Equestrian Association.
Its general secretary Soenke Lauterbach said in a statement: “As we already told RTL in 2020 and 2021, we take the allegations very seriously. This is precisely why we will carefully analyze the footage broadcast on Tuesday evening and then draw appropriate conclusions on how to proceed. In order to be able to make a serious assessment of the facts, all video and evidence material is required. We therefore ask RTL again to make this completely available to us. “
Regardless of the contribution shown, the Equestrian Association can already “clearly state that the use of square poles as well as studded or spiked pole material is unacceptable and not in accordance with the principles of fair equestrian sport”.
Ludger Beerbaum with his mare “Mila” last November at a competition in Prague
Those: pa / dpa / CTK / Vit Simanek
The equestrian association has asked RTL several times in the past few years to provide the complete video material for a technical examination and to name the people involved, according to the association’s announcement. RTL “has not yet met the requests and demands”. As early as July 2020, the RTL editorial team approached the Equestrian Association for the first time with a request for the use of methods that may be in violation of animal welfare in equestrian sports.
In response to this, the association stated that it set up a commission with experts from different areas of equestrian sport in January 2021. This “should review controversial training methods and, where necessary, make suggestions for changes to the rules”. The goal of presenting results by the end of 2021 was not met due to “the complexity of the subject of touching”.
In May 2021, the association based in Warendorf filed a complaint with the NRW police against unknown persons because of the possible violation of the Animal Welfare Act. The public prosecutor’s office in Münster informed the FN last November that the investigation had been discontinued. After the broadcast, the association announced that it would inform the public prosecutor’s office about the RTL contribution “so that they can assess the facts on the basis of the Animal Welfare Act”.
The parallel bars are intended to induce horses to pull their legs stronger and thus jump higher. This method is forbidden as it causes pain to the animals.
Beerbaum: “Nothing hidden or illegal is done”
On the other hand, the practice of so-called touching is permitted. “Touching is a professional sensitization of the horse through targeted touching of the horse’s legs during the jump process”, it says in the guidelines of the FN. The poles must be smooth round wood – no more than three meters long and no heavier than two kilograms. Touching should only be used by experienced horse specialists.
Beerbaum announced on Wednesday afternoon that the RTL contribution “is demonstrably wrong, defamatory and defamatory in many respects. Of course we will take legal action against it. It is unacceptable that it was secretly filmed on my private property. “
The scenes shown in the report on the riding arena have “nothing to do with bars. It is about permitted touching that was carried out by an experienced, experienced horse specialist. The object to be seen in the video met the requirements of the German Equestrian Association for permissible touching ”.
Beerbaum said: “I run my stable as an open stable where groups of visitors are guests every day, customers pick up their feed for their horses, and interns are also welcome. Here you can ride in open spaces and complete daily training. Nothing hidden or prohibited is done. ”
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