COUNTRYFILE viewers slammed the BBC for airing "uncomfortable" animal cruelty scenes in last night's show.
The BBC One programme often receives backlash over its content and portrayal of rural living.
In the latest episode Tom Heap investigated why over a hundred horses were killed last year in jump racing.
Horse deaths have raised the question of whether enough is being done to protect them.
The segment featured an interview from a professional horse racing trainer.
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Viewers met Lucinda Russell, who is well-known for training champions, most recently with a horse named Corach Rambler.
The trainer recalled a story about one of her runner up horses, named Mighty Thunder.
The horse sadly passed away from a heart attack and an aneurysm after it had competed in the Scottish Grand National.
"We had another horse that we absolutely adored called Mighty Thunder, and unfortunately in his case, he unseated his jockey during the race, and he was caught and he was absolutely fine...
But having come back, he had a heart attack and an aneurysm in the stables, and we unfortunately lost him," Lucinda revealed.
However, viewers were furious because they believed the horses were forced to race.
Many rushed to X/Twitter to express their frustration with the "uncomfortable" scenes they saw, with some calling it "animal cruelty."
One wrote: “Horses want to jump” I’m not a horse rider. My question is do they? In the wild do they run 45 miles an hour over a prolonged course with massive jumps in the way, being whipped. Never seen that on a wildlife program Bred to race is another thing."
A second added: "None of those things would they do naturally unless danger threatened them, humans make them perform."
A third agreed: "Said the same as I watched it. Made me feel very uncomfortable."
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A fourth added: "This. Take out the betting and 'at the end of this race we’ll know which horse can gallop faster than all the other horses!' which literally interests no one."
A fifth wrote: "I’d like to know who horse racing benefits apart from those that make money. Certainly not the horses or those that gamble their money away. The horses haven’t chosen to be raced, or to die from doing so. Don’t agree with it at all."
