– MEDIA RELEASE 18 AUGUST 2024 –
Black Caviar was euthanized shortly after giving birth to her 9th foal. She allegedly was suffering from laminitis, which is likely to have been exacerbated by her pregnancy.
“Black Caviar has been hailed as a hero for horseracing but the truth is she was a victim of a ruthless sport that puts profit above all else” said Elio Celotto, Campaign Director for the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.
“Black Caviar was put on the racetrack first time as a 2yo, and she had no choice but to race just like every other racehorse. And then when she was retired from racing, she was forced to breed. Instead of giving her the retirement she deserved, she was exploited up until the day she died.”
In an interview with trainer Peter Moody, he explained how Black Caviar was prone to poor blood flow in her hooves and that there was no blood flow at all on the day she gave birth, which became the reason for euthanizing her.
“The question that needs to be asked now is, what did the vets know about her supposedly laminetic condition and how long was she suffering from it? If they knew Black Caviar was at risk, why would they continue to impregnate her?
“Pregnancy is well known to exacerbate laminitis in horses who are prone to it. And the added weight to her body from carrying a foal, would without a doubt have caused excruciating pain in her laminetic feet. Was her health compromised by the greed of owners wanting to produce as many foals as possible?”
“We will never know the true circumstances but almost certainly she would be still alive today if she wasn’t treated like a breeding machine.”
The Breeding Process
Mares are pregnant for 11 months. So, one month after giving birth often with their newborn foal standing next to her, she will be forcibly mated from again. And again, the following year and the year after that.
Mares are commonly restrained so that they cannot say no. If the mare was a human, it would be called rape. In many cases, they’ll use a twitch to twist and apply pressure to the lip of a mare to immobilize her. Hobbles are attached to the hind legs of the mare to prevent her from kicking the stallion away. Her tail is forcefully pulled to the side to prevent her from interrupting the mating.
These breeding procedures will be happening again soon as the breeding season starts on September 1.
“In the month of August approx. 13000 foals will be born around the country. Many mares just like Black Caviar simply won’t make it due to complications caused by being pregnant for 11 months of every year.”
For the estimated 3000 mares reaching the end of their breeding careers every year, most will be suffering various conditions that will make them difficult to re-home.
“Nobody wants a 12 years plus mare that’s been repeatedly bred from. The industry doesn’t have a retirement plan for them or even keep any records. These horses are almost certainly condemned to slaughter, buried out the back of a stud out of sight, or sent to a knackery,” Mr Elio Celotto said.
– ENDS –
I blame the government because they could put those people in prison for animal abuse and they won’t do it. They don’t care about the animals all they care about is money and taxes and it’s disgusting and I don’t know what the solution is. All I can do is hope that the people who have tortured these animals year after year for God knows how long or punished. The people who torture these animals are pure evil
Totally agree with you. Their treatment of this beautiful horse at the end of her racing life – defies description. It was just so wrong/cruel and heartless. They should be banned from ever having anything to do with horses for the term of their natural life AND jailed for the number of years that they tortured her. RIP Beautiful girl….
Absolutely 100% DITTO….my first tht when found she was 28yrs old with birthing calculated yrly, an absolute disgrace of undeniable animal cruely, & to such a champion legendary mare like Black Caviar, appalling for all mares !!
Absolutely 100% DITTO….my first tht when found she was 28yrs old with birthing calculated yrly, an absolute disgrace of undeniable animal cruely, & to such a champion legendary mare like Black Caviar, appalling for all mares !! RIP Black Caviar…I adored u !!
Vale Black Caviar. You deserved to be retired with respect. racing as a 2year old would have been the beginning of your hoof and leg problems.. you the innocent one.
This is abhorrent!
I am deeply distressed.
Legislation needs to change, perhaps a royal commission?
Surely this doesn’t comply with RSPCA guidelines?
The spotlight should be put on the RSPCA, I am sure they know what’s going on with these mares. They are quick to pick on the back yard bloke but this is animal cruetly on a mass scale. They haven’t shut down enough puppy farms either. RSPCA are a gutless wonder who don’t get my support anymore. I wont even shop at their Pet Stores.
Totally agree. Not enough has & is being done to protect animals other than designer breeding of dogs in still what i call puppy farms or tecklesly & in general treating animals including mafes as breeding machines.
I am deeply saddened and angry on the death of Black Caviar. Sure, it was understandable for her to produce a couple of foals, but she should have then been retired. There needs to be widespread outrage at the death of Black Caviar and then her foal. Horseracing cannot be eliminated, but it needs to be more closely monitored with the horses’ welfare made a priority. In my opinion, it is tragic that this beautiful animal died like this.
It’s a mystery to me how secrecy around treatment of racehorses and Black Caviar is perpetuated.The work of government should be to protect animals from harm caused by industry, not profit from that harm.
I don’t comprehend how almost every single politician you can name over years and years is not speaking up or doing anything to bring justice for racehorses.Industy and government alike commit scandalous crimes involving animal cruelty.I have no answers.
The death of Black Caviar has shown us the dirty side of horse breeding. Black Cavier desired a better life than she was given. In my opinion the treatment was no better than puppy farming. The different is money speaks and hard to control this industry
Agree whole heartedly. At 18 yrs old, she should have retired in peace & beauty emjoying something like the ‘Champions’ farm in Victoria.
Heartbreaking.
Pure animal abuse at its worst.
Inhumane, ruthless people in an inhumane, ruthless industry.
racing is what i do best , i would make everyone happy,owners trainers punters and the like. i won 25 out of 25 races. iwas known as a true champion. my retirement came and i dreamt of lush paddocks, running around with other horses living the dream.i was to become a breeding mars thinking a few foals is ok .but in my 11years i had 9 foals.impregnated 9 times even if i didnt want to. my last days i got laminitis and mastitis a hoof disease giving birth to last foal i had to b euthanized me iwas never going to get over this. laminitis israre going by what vets will tell u .my foal died 2 days later my days of lush green fields was just a memory my name is and was black caviar never b forgotten RIP A TRUE CHAMPION.
I would just want to know if they buried her body she deserves a special place where she can be remembered she was an incredible champion. Jean
This whole saga has bought tears to my eyes. These beautiful horses are bashed and kicked, whipped, tongue tied and all the other dirty little secrets we are yet to find out all over the greed of trainers and owners. Black Caviar won every race she ran, then was bred to death. Laminitis doesn’t happen over night. The poor girl obviously wasn’t vet checked to see if she could carry a foal year after year until they killed her. The racing industry is a dirty game and it’s about time it was fully exposed for what it is. No animal deserves to be punished to make the greedy rich. Horse Racing is ANIMAL ABUSE/CRUELTY on a massive scale.
100% agree Rose.
There is no end to the greed for money in the horse racing industry.
The heartbreaking cruelty and suffering of these beautiful sentient animals
is abhorrent.
Horse racing cruelty is hidden from the public when animals fall and are euthanised during a race.
Terror in the eyes of race horses and other horses is seen in their eyes as they witness the death awaiting them at the knackery.
When they are surplus to this cruel industry or not winning races they are
discarded with no feeling by those who profess to love them.
There is nil empathy amongst owners,trainers,book makers,and gamblers in this industry as to their welfare.
The fashion world which supports certain events also needs to understand that they are also complicit.
Horse racing is all about the vanity,ego and greed of the racehorse owner and those others associated with it. For the racehorse it is abuse and animal cruelty.
Black Caviar would have suffered terribly, it brings tears to my eyes that she was abused till her last breath for the sake of the almighty dollar.
Animal cruelty condoned by Government for revenue
I cannot tell you how much I share with all who precede me. This cruelty towards helpless animals who have no control over the life style that is imposed on them should be brought to an end. The Government really needs to step in and stop this soul destroying animal abuse. I was sickened at the comments that were made by the owners; those who are involved in getting her onto the track; and anyone else who made themelves rich by her exploitation. The government must step in and prevent this ongoing depravity that only exists to support the wealth creation ambition of the mindless and greedy. How sad for horses to find them sharing our planet with the low life that is the human being whose only reason for their existence, i t seems, is to make money.
I am deeply distressed by what happened to that beautiful and powerles creature . I feel the same about Winx and still have the sickening response of the female owner to Winx’s first foal. Dollar signs everywhere. Eight million was not enough and then 10 million wasn’t enough.
The media release is important and necessary.. Released to who?Who publishes it for the enlightenment of the ignorant public? What publications include this Black Caviar story?The truth must out, how to make the truth widely known—– to challenge the myths, falsehoods and propaganda of the racing industry to truly educate the community on industry’s unethical, greedy, racehorse abusive modus operandi.
I cannot tell you how much I share with all who precede me. This cruelty towards helpless animals who have no control over the life style that is imposed on them should be brought to an end. The Government really needs to step in and stop this soul destroying animal abuse. I was sickened at the comments that were made by the owners; those who are involved in getting her onto the track; and anyone else who made themelves rich by her exploitation. The government must step in and prevent this ongoing depravity that only exists to support the wealth creation ambition of the mindless and greedy. How sad for horses to find them sharing our planet with the low life that is the human being whose only reason for their existence, it seems, is to make money no matter what the cost.
I did not know that Black Caviar had Laminitis. She was an Amazing Racehorse who thrilled so many people. It does break my heart to find out she was bred after the owners knew she had the debilitating disease Laminitis. I cry as I picture her big beautiful body carrying the weight of 9 foals along with her own weight while being in such excruciating pain. Black Caviar took care of her foals each year after winning millions of dollars for her owners. Her OWNERS SHOULD HAVE SHOWN COMPASSION AND STOPPED BREEDING HER EVERY YEAR AFTER SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LAMINITIS. THE OWNERS SHOULD HAVE RETIRED THIS BEAUTIFUL HORSE. THE OWNERS BRED HER TO DEATH AFTER SHE WON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THEM RACING. I CAN UNDERSTAND 3-4 FOALS BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE END IF IT. BLACK CAVIAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED OUT TO LIVE THE REST OF HER LIFE COMFORTABLY. I CRY AS I TYPE THIS. I KNOW NOW IT WASN’T FAIR FOR HER.
MAY BLACK CAVIAR NOW REST IN PEACE WITHOUT PAIN. GOD NOW HAS HER IN HIS HANDS.
FROM TRACY HOBBS-MOULTON
THE VILLAGES FLORIDA
It was with such sadness that I learnt of Black Caviar’s death. I wondered what had happened to cause her death at a relatively young age for a horse. So I did some research into her life post racing into her retirement.
When I discovered the number of foals she had been forced to have, foals that did not inherit her racing prowess but despite this her owners continued to breed every year from this poor mare. Had they not already made millions from her? She had worked so hard for years to provide them with prestige and millions in prize money.
But still they had to squeeze more out of her!
I was disgusted with these owners and so very angry. I wish they could be prosecuted and banned from owning horses ever again.
I would like to encourage the RSPCA to investigate Black Caviar’s treatment by her owners.
There is something that can be done to restrict the number of foals a mare can have. Sadly too late for Black Caviar but in the future to prevent such treatment of thoroughbred mares post their racing career. I would propose that a restriction be imposed on all mares denying registration of their foals beyond a given number of progeny approved by a panel of veterinarians. Mares are branded and these details are all recorded anyway for them to be registered with whatever the governing body is known as before they can race- they could also be microchipped (if not already) so their identity is known. Their foals are recorded in this way too – their DNA could even be taken to prove their ancestry. A maximum number of foals per mare is allowed for registration and no more. If there is even one foal beyond the maximum allowed then those foals will be denied registration to ever race. It could be known as Black Caviars law.
It is done with pedigree dogs by the Australian Kennel Club so I don’t see why it can’t be done with horses. For example I have a purebred border collie. His mother was allowed 3 litters and these pups were eligible for registration. Any more litters than that and they could not be registered. Unregistered pups are not worth nearly as much and cannot be shown. That’s the deterrent to breeders to not exploit their dogs. Let’s see it happen for our racing mares. Dear Black Caviar RIP.
Black Caviar’s law to limit the number of times horses can be r*ped and forced to pump out foals, purely for profit, is an excellent idea.
To the owners of Black Caviar a question, :Are you happy now?? I hope you all carry the guilt of what you allowed that magnificent animal to go through after she raced her heart out for you on the track!.
Nelly more than deserved a peaceful retirement, and a way longer life than her rising 18 years!.
Unfortunately she was at your mercy, being continuesly in foal year after year!.. shame on you all!!
No wonder she developed laminitis! As we all know Nelly was a powerful big mare, so all her own body weight plus the additional weight of carrying foals every bloody year for 9 years, it was inevitable what the outcome would be!.You showed no compassion and a great lack of duty of care for her.
There is no way around it, Nelly was bred to death!All the vets and so called knowledgeable connections can say what they like to try and cover the truth, but know this, greed, callousness, mindless stupidity is what took Black Caviars life ….
And God was watching!.
Rest In Peace Beautiful Nelly.
Again, the horse racing industry shows its real colours.
It has no interest in these horses as living beings. Their only interest revolves around money.
RIP Black Caviar.
100%
Like dairy cows racehorse mares such as Black Caviar are deliberately impregnated. In Caviar’s case it was the greed & cruelty of the racing industry that killed her & her foal in the end. Mares are hobbled twitched & wear aprons as stallions can & do bite deep into their necks when mating takes place. Maiden mares are terrified & to put Caviar through this awful process again & again shortened her life. This brutal method is animal rape. It would be completely unacceptable in humans yet this happens all the time in racing studs & within the racing industry.It is also cruel for the stallion as most stallions in the racing industry are deliberately kept in a highly agitated state well away from mares until it is time for the mares to be “serviced” (raped) furthermore twitches are applied to the upper lips of mares. Given that a horses mouth is very sensitive with a rich blood supply a twitch “supposedly” calms them & releases endorphins “supposedly” keeping the mare in a state of calm whilst the handlers hold up a hind leg so she doesn’t instinctively kick out at the stallion which mares do all the time if they are not in season. Caviar was no more than a breeding machine within this despicable & deplorable industry a “battery hen horse” amongst thousands of other racehorse mares forced to breed one foal after another for the next Phar Lap, Black Caviar etc. It is very muched hoped through this terrible tragedy of a beautiful horse that members of the public be educated into what goes on when mares are bred. It is brutal, disgusting & beyond cruel. Again & again those in the racing industry profess to “love our horses” but what kind of an industry breeds a mare year after year until her body is beyond this & she is killed because she developed founder (laminitis?) How many more (uncertified) deaths of racehorse mares have occurred from this vile industry?
It is time to kill the industry that kills racehorses & furthermore continues to exploit, use, abuse & use horses as a commodity for blood money. It is time for the public to become aware of how racehorse mares are bred (raped) & hopefully this may discourage people participating in & supporting such a vile industry.
RIP Nellie (Black Caviar) your death should never be taken in vain.
Wow, I never knew what these poor Mares go through, I’m sure they also run the crap out of stallions to get every dime worth from the horse. Ran to death and bred to death is a cruel heartless act and I will never put money on another horse again as I will not contribute to a business who are cruel to animals. Poor Caviar, I see her teeth and looks like dark spots in her mouth, I doubt they really treated her well, they would only spend what they need to get her to do what they wanted from her. And tying her up to be raped is horrendous, the worse part is she carry’s for 11 months has one month off and impregnated again, no wonder she has sore feet. Constantly pregnant 9 times is abuse and these people who used her to be a money bag should be in jail along with those who won’t change the laws to protect horses from ill treatment. I heard when they die at the field they just get the chainsaw out and cut them up? Not sure how true that is, also that they often bleed from the nose because of all the anti inflammatory they give them to keep racing that they bleed on the inside, I felt like stopping after that, let alone now. I don’t gamble very often usually Melbourne cup, but not even that now. I tried to copy and paste this on X ( twitter) but it wouldn’t paste, so I can’t let others know about it. I will be telling anyone I know who bets though and tell them how cruel the industry is. It’s discusting and they should all be ashamed of themselves. The baby died two days later, and they don’t deserve the foal so they knew she wasn’t fit to have another foal and they killed her really, imagine how sore she must have been in the end and still stood up, what a champion she is and always was. Rest now Beauty, you are one in a million!
RIP Black Caviar xxxx
All the praise & glamour about her death on the news was so disgusting…. The Public were certainly NOT told about how she was enslaved as a breeding machine once she retired,,, which caused her death….. no doubt,,, she would have lived a lot longer if she were given the peaceful retirement she so deserved as do ALL RACE HORSES. . THIS BLOODSPORT MUST BE BANNED!!!!!
All these EVIL Human Parasites Will Rot In Hell… Where They All Belong!
This is the ultimate in cruelty. Men and their money. They can never get enough. Do whatever it takes to get it. May your money go to hell with you. Prison would be just for them, owners, trainers, jockeys, those who bet. The media is always onto anything which thrills the public, why dont the media expose it. Maybe they get paid out too!
So sorry for this beautiful animal and her baby, and all the others who break their necks and legs in jumps racing. So much suffering.
This article brought me to tears.
Where is the RSPCA! Nowhere to be seen.
Thank you to the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses for doing what you can.
Black Caviar died before her time. She should have been allowed a peaceful retirement. It is natural that she would have been bred…she was a champion after all. But being covered by some stallion nine times in eleven years was surely cruel.
It is worth noting that in her racing years she was never whipped by her jockey. She was not accustomed to mistreatment.
What a shock for her to be tied up, mouth twitched and shackled to be bred every year.
In how many pregnancies did she suffer laminitis? Caused by carrying excess weight. She had another ten years or more of life. Would the owners ever have put a stop to their money grabbing cruelty? How inconvenient for them that she succumbed to the result of their actions .
Sure…none of her foals have been sold, but they have all been put to work either racing or at stud. If they weren’t winners they have proved good breeders.
These owners are disgraceful, and are obviously trying to build a “Caviar “ dynasty.
They bought his beautiful horse for next to nothing. She made them known. And still, they are greedily grasping for more.
I feel heartbroken for Black Caviar and very afraid for the offspring that she was forced to provide to a greedy, pathetic and ungrateful group of owners. The same owners who rocked up in their finery pretending they had class.
Bkack Caviar had class. The owners had nothing but a pretentious delusion of their own self importance.
They should be prosecuted. As are the owners of puppy farms
Just today I read about the death of dear Black Caviar. It made me feel very sad and enraged to hear about how she has been exploited.
Rest in peace, gallant lady. Now I am starting to fear very much for her fellow racing heroinne, WINX.
I think it should be forbidden to race horses that are only 2 years old. It’s like sending a toddler to university. It cannot be healthy for a horse to be forced into top sport at such a young age. Poor Black Caviar. I do hope she is galloping on the heavenly plains in complete freedom now. As a matter of fact, I also do sincerely worry about that other great mare, Winx. Will she also be exploited and forced to carry foals year in year out? ??
I did not know that Black Caviar had Laminitis. She was an Amazing Racehorse who thrilled so many people. It does break my heart to find out she was bred after the owners knew she had the debilitating disease Laminitis. I cry as I picture her big beautiful body carrying the weight of 9 foals along with her own weight while being in such excruciating pain. Black Caviar took care of her foals each year after winning millions of dollars for her owners. Her OWNERS SHOULD HAVE SHOWN COMPASSION AND STOPPED BREEDING HER EVERY YEAR AFTER SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LAMINITIS. THE OWNERS SHOULD HAVE RETIRED THIS BEAUTIFUL HORSE. THE OWNERS BRED HER TO DEATH AFTER SHE WON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THEM RACING. I CAN UNDERSTAND 3-4 FOALS BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE END IF IT. BLACK CAVIAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED OUT TO LIVE THE REST OF HER LIFE COMFORTABLY. I CRY AS I TYPE THIS. I KNOW NOW IT WASN’T FAIR FOR HER.
MAY BLACK CAVIAR NOW REST IN PEACE WITHOUT PAIN. GOD NOW HAS HER IN HIS HANDS.
FROM TRACY HOBBS-MOULTON
THE VILLAGES FLORIDA
Totally agree with all these wonderful letters – but interestingly all were written by women! No men? Strange. Is it because men are more often highly motivated by MONEY. We do live in a sicko planet, don’t we?