Racing NSW is blocking efforts to #ditchthewhip
The same man who considers himself to be at the forefront of equine welfare is the very person who is standing in the way of Australia banning the whip in racing.
Racing NSW CEO Peter V'landys has repeatedly claimed whips don't hurt horses, despite overwhelming evidence (and a sprinkling of common sense) to the contrary. He and his team at Racing NSW not only support the continued use of whips, they fail on all occasions to appropriately punish jockeys for their flagrant whip rule breaches.
On September 15, 2021, an Animal Justice Party motion for the Victorian Parliament to support calls to ban whips from thoroughbred racing was passed.
This is a very important step towards banning the whip not only in Victoria but across Australia.
Aside from legislative change from state to state, AJP's Andy Meddick MP made it clear to the parliament that the only other way the use of whips will be banned is by the racing industry themselves. Racing Victoria and Racing NSW each have 35% of the vote on the Australian Racing Board. With Racing Victoria and now the Victorian Parliament already onside, WE NEED YOU to put pressure on Racing NSW and Racing Australia as the overarching governing body to get onboard and #ditchthewhip
Sign now!
It seems just about everyone understands and is willing to admit that whips hurt horses, (except those in the racing industry), and that it is beyond time they were banned from horse racing.
Whilst you would not think a scientific study would be required to prove this obvious fact that Peter V'landys has always denied, there is now scientific evidence that whips cause horses pain – available here.
The landmark paper, published in November 2020 found “Humans and horses have the equivalent basic anatomic structures to detect pain in the skin."
But not all the blame can be placed on Mr V'landys.
In 2015, whilst denying whips hurt horses, former Racing Australia CEO Peter McGauran stated that the Australian Racing Board would consider abolishing the whip if science proved it hurt horses. The word ‘consider’ is telling as to whether the industry actually cares if horses suffer pain or not, but in any case, the ARB has chosen to ignore the scientific evidence by not supporting an immediate phase out of whips.
Rather than leading the way in welfare reform, like everything else in the racing industry, it seems they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming.
Not only do whips cause horses pain, they also contribute to the the psychological trauma that leads to learned helplessness and they force horses to push themselves past their physical limitations, contributing to the high frequency of catastrophic injuries and sudden death on the racetrack.
We are confident that the end of the use of whips in horse racing is imminent and we need your help. Sign the petition now, demanding that Racing NSW and Racing Australia stop blocking welfare reform and #ditchthewhip
Beating horses with a whip is just the tip of the iceberg in this cruel and ruthless industry. So long as horse racing persists, banning whips is the absolute least they can do.
More on whips here.
