Media Release:
Tomorrow Wednesday 26 February 2025 at 11am the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) and Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) Tasmania will team up to support the horses that are forced to run and risk their life at the Launceston Cup. Only in the last six months, at least six Thoroughbred racehorses in Tasmania have been killed on the racetrack or following injuries sustained on the track. “These six horses were killed for nothing but the sake of gambling and human entertainment. The ruthless exploitation of horses in the racing industry must come to an end,” said Gabby Knox, who is spokesperson for DxE Tasmania. The Thoroughbred racehorses killed in Tasmania since start of the 24/25 racing season were: 5yo King Kurt 4yo Ensign Eagle 6yo My Design 5yo Share the Gold 4yo Aquafan 6yo Press for Victory Around 300 Thoroughbreds are ‘retired’ from racing in Tasmania each year but there is no publicly available information on their whereabouts. Although the annual report from Tasracing 2024 reveals that a shocking 10 percent of the retired Thoroughbreds – 31 horses – had been “euthanised” by a vet or killed by a knackery/abattoir person due to injuries, illness, or because the horses were “unsafe to rehome, unable to rehome.” Tasracing received more than $36M in public funds, yet it still made a loss of $1.2M last financial year. “The racing industry is losing their social licence and Tasmanians do not accept this public funding of animal abuse and exploitation,” Gabby Knox said. “If people absolutely must waste their money on betting, there are plenty of actual sports they can bet on that doesn’t involve animal cruelty, and where the athletes haven’t been forced to participate,” said Gabby Knox. Protesters will meet in front of the Tasmanian Turf Club in Mowbray at 11am on Wednesday 26 February to support the horses and educate the public about the cruelty of horse racing. |
