Belgrade horses to be drugged for Stones gig

From Reuters via The Associated Press

BELGRADE - A plan to sedate more than 300 horses stabled at Belgrade's racecourse to keep them calm during a Rolling Stones concert there has enraged Serb animal lovers who are lobbying to have the gig moved to another venue.
The concert is expected to draw more than 100,000 people to the Hippodrome, Belgrade's largest fenced space. The horses will be only a few meters from the stage.
"Horses differ, the same as people. Some are more nervous, more skittish," said hostler Jovanka Prelic. "If they get too nervous or start to panic during the concert, they'll get sedatives."
Serbia's biggest animal protection society, ORCA, says holding the concert there would be extremely harmful to the horses, and sedating them is not the answer.
"Research has shown that noise and vibrations are the strongest causes of stress to animals," Elvir Burazerovic, head of ORCA, told Reuters.
"Surely our big city has enough open spaces where even 150,000 people can fit in. We think the Hippodrome should be left to horses," he said.
The sedative would be diazepam. In Serbia it trades under the name Bensedin, a very popular drug during the 78 days of NATO air strikes in 1999, when much of Belgrade's adult population was on tranquilizers.
ORCA said that if it failed to convince the organizers to change the concert venue, it would contact the Rolling Stones directly and ask them to use their influence.
"I believe we'll succeed since such a reputable band will not allow such a stain on its record," Burazerovic said.

Jason's snark: Hey, man, it's a 'Stones concert. The horses should be sedated. You know the band's gonna be.