SIGN & SHARE THE PETITION HERE

Like Taylor Swift, Kelly Rowland appears to be completely unaware of the shocking abuse and deaths horses suffer in the racing industry. We need to inform her of the cruelty she will be endorsing and ask her to #PullASwifty. 

It was recently announced the megastar has agreed to perform at Australia’s deadliest racetrack, Royal Randwick, as part of ‘The Everest’. The Everest has been specifically designed to lure the younger generation who are turning their back on horse racing cruelty to the track and towards gambling habits. The booking of Kelly Rowland is also specifically designed to do the same thing. 

Kelly Rowland is a powerful woman, a fierce feminist, a symbol of strength and a dedicated philathropist for many social justice causes. She encourages equality and those who have the ability to speak up for others in need to do so, whilst also encouraging self-empowerment. We now need to speak up to her to ensure she knows her support of The Everest promotes the oppression, suffering and murder of thousands of vulnerable horses every year. 

Taylor Swift backed out of the Melbourne Cup once fans made her aware of the cruelty she was endorsing. We like to think Kelly Rowland will stand up and do the same.

Some things Kelly may not know:
1) Last year our Deathwatch report exposed more horses were killed at Royal Randwick than any other track in Australia – read here.
2) The Everest offers $14 million in prize money which helps ensure horses will be pushed so hard that 90% will bleed from the lungs as studies have shown. With the stakes so high, they will be beaten hard with the whip and pushed well beyond their limits.
3) 1 horse is killed on Australian racetracks every 3 days (that we know of – the real numbers would be much higher)
4) When no longer wanted, thousands of horses are sent to one of our thirty-three knackeries to be turned into dog food, or one of two slaughterhouses to be killed for human consumption where they endure horrific deaths. These slaughterhouses depend on a steady supply of young horse flesh from the racing industry.
5) When in training, the life of a horse used for racing is one of isolation and confinement. They cannot socialise and express their natural behaviours. They cannot graze. They are fed a concentrated diet that leads to 90% of horses suffering painful stomach ulcers. Painful instruments of domination and control are used on them including bits, whips, spurs, tongue-ties and jiggers (electric shock devices).
6) Approximately 45% of the horses bred for racing never make it to the track and most vanish without a trace.
6) Mares used for breeding the next big winner are tied down to be mated, often  against their will, by a stallion who is trucked around the country ‘servicing’ them. Her foals are taken from her early for training or to be killed if they do not show the desired attributes. Read more here.

These do not sound like the kind of practices someone who supports justice and equality should be endorsing. 

Kelly Rowland should #PullASwifty and cancel her gig at The Everest!

Bands are used by the racing industry to tie down the tongues of horses. They are spruiked as being for the horses’ benefit to assist in breathing. There is no clear evidence to support claims that breathing is improved yet 72% of thoroughbred trainers and 85% of standardbred (harness racing) trainers use them.

We do however know that those having their tongues tied show significantly more frequent stress behaviours such as gaping, ears back and head tossing with many sustaining injuries such as lacerations, swelling, bruising, head shyness, difficulty swallowing, anxiety, ‘blue tongue’ and permanent tissue damage. Of course, this is not surprising. Their tongues are tied! Read more here.

Trainers who claim they use tongue ties due to horses tongues pushing over the bit and causing possible airway obstruction are ignoring the human-caused reasons the horse does so in the first place such as too much unrelenting and meaningless pressure maintained on the tongue via the bit.

Let’s face it, tongue ties (like most other instruments used in horse racing) are used to instill fear, dominance and control over a horse as a means of forcing them into subjugation and pushing them beyond their limits. Any evidence of improved respiratory function would still make their use unnecessary if they weren’t being pushed so hard. Tongue ties are not for the benefit of the horse. Like horse racing itself, they exist to benefit the human at the expense of the horses mental and physical wellbeing.

The below images feature Lanciato at the Newcastle track in 2018 and in 2019. His visible distress is undeniable, requiring him to be escorted to the gates.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

There is little doubt that the changing weather is going to have an increasing impact on the ground surfaces of racetracks around Australia and for the capacity of surfaces to dry out and increase in firmness during any race-day.

Tracks rated Good 3 or worse have been identified as a significant risk factor for catastrophic limb injuries to racehorses that result in euthanasia of the horse.  The magnitude of ground reaction forces when the foot collides with the surface increases with hard tracks which may increase injuries to bone. 

See video demonstrating the testing of a racetrack in the USA with a penetrometer here.

Racing Victoria has been criticised by both Michelle Payne and Darren Weir over the suffering hard tracks inflict on horses. Coming from a trainer who was found guilty of electrically shocking horses and a jockey who was also potentially complicit we don’t assume their concern is for the horses but more for their careers, but… we digress.

Racing Victoria has recently changed its policy to present tracks with more “give” in them.

“As part of the review, the ATA conducted detailed research with trainers and 85% of those surveyed indicated that they would like softer tracks presented in the best interests of their horses. This aligned with veterinary research which affirms that the risk of injuries increases with an increased firmness of tracks.”

“The response from our members was loud and clear that they wanted more give in our tracks to help them manage their horses through their racing campaigns, particularly in the days following a race.”

Article here.

However, Racing NSW does not appear to consider racing on hard tracks cruel to horses.  

At Coonamble on 23 June, 2019, the track was rated as Good 3/Firm 2. The riders of Palais De Louvre, Harmonica, Toulon Brook, Modern Family and Just a Bullet all reported to stewards after the race that the horses did not appreciate the firm track conditions.  Toulin Brook and Just a Bullet both pulled up lame (1/5) in both forelegs and Charlotte’s Heart pulled up lame (1/5) in the off foreleg.

Stewards report here

Bone fatigue is a process that results in chronic damage accumulation in a joint due to repeated high-speed work that can result in a catastrophic fracture and the death of a horse.  Bone is a complex tissue that is able to adapt to loads and repair itself naturally (termed bone remodelling) however, in general racehorses in training have lower rates of remodelling compared with horses at rest. In other words, bone repair is suppressed in horses in race training compared with horses resting from training.   The highest joint loads occur in the fetlock which is also the most common site of subchondral bone (bone underlying the cartilage) injury in Thoroughbred racehorses.  The degree of damage to the fetlocks of racehorses that has been documented by scientists is horrifying.

“Up to 70% of Thoroughbred racehorses have bone bruising, or joint surface collapse of the cannon bone and condylar fractures which propagate from this joint surface are the most common cause of fatal breakdown injuries. These injuries are due to bone fatigue, damage that accumulates due to repeated high loading produced by high-speed galloping.” 

Read the study here.

Scientists have recently found that the solar angle of the coffin bone in the foot of the horse is associated with scintigraphic evidence of subchondral bone injury in the distal cannon-bones of Thoroughbred racehorses that forms part of the fetlock joint.  This is commonly due to incorrect hoof conformation that causes chronic hoof imbalance such as long toes/low, underrun heels that are often associated with poor integrity/development of the soft tissues of the back of the foot.

In a radio interview, Assoc. Professor Chris Whitton, head of research studies into bone fatigue at Melbourne University Equine Centre stated: 

• There’s always variation between individuals but there are some characteristic sites where we see injury.   The fetlock being a really common one where we get a lot of serious injuries. 
• Low heels are associated with fetlock injuries.    The balance of the foot affects the loads in the lower joints.  Typically sites that have the highest loads suffer injury.  
• Balancing a training programme to rest periods is crucial. 
• Maintain foot balance and avoid giving horses medication to mask pain.  

Another important study ‘Bone fatigue and its implications for injuries in racehorses’ can be read here.

Racing NSW pays lucrative prizemoney back to 10th place to its participants.  E.g. At a mid-week meeting at Hawkesbury, horses who finished 10th received $1,000 prizemoney – see here. There is no doubt that this prizemoney provides a strong incentive for trainers and owners to race horses more often. 

It is clear that Racing NSW did not base its new rule in regard to Frequency of Starts on Australian scientific research into racehorses, and that the welfare of the racehorse is not paramount to Racing NSW:

(1) No horse shall be permitted to start in a race on more than five (5) occasions during any thirty (30) day period.

(2) In any thirty (30) day period, a horse is only permitted on one (1) occasion, to start in a race that results in the horse starting in two races that are two (2) Clear Days or less than apart.

(3) A two-year-old shall not be permitted to start in a race on consecutive days.

The local rule can be read here.

No matter where you look in horse racing, there is suffering being inflicted onto horses. From the very track conditions on which they are forced to race, through to the slaughterhouses that kill them and the abundance of horrors in between.

In December 2018, Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA) announced a $2.25 million cut in infrastructure funding.  The reason for this was the introduction of a Point of Consumption (POC) tax levied on all bets placed.  The tax was introduced by most states however, unlike Victoria and NSW where tax was set at eight and ten percent respectively, the SA Government set their tax at 15%.  This resulted in bookmakers promoting interstate races and badly impacting Racing SA revenue and prize money.

The SA Government has been heavily lobbied by TRSA since the tax was introduced.  The main arguments are the impact on racing industry jobs and the inability to attract participants because of the lower prize money.

Fast forward to June 2019 and the announcement by the SA Government to inject a very serious $24 million into the racing industry.  The stimulus package will be spread across four years.  This is in addition to the $4.85 million awarded to the industry in 2017/18.

Despite the award being reliant on TRSA demonstrating that job creation and economic benefits are a quantifiable result of the injection, the POC tax will remain at its current level and is still an unattractive proposition for bookmakers.

The pressure put upon the State Government by the horse racing industry has clearly paid off for TRSA but is this an effective use of taxpayers’ money?

Instead of supporting a failing and cruel industry such as horseracing, why would the SA Government not consider more deserving recipients for this massive amount of cash?

In 2017, Racing NSW committed millions of dollars to its racehorse welfare program.  This was in response to increasing consumer awareness about cruelty issues so prevalent in the horse racing industry.  It is the only state that is attempting to tackle wastage and obliging owners and trainers to seek and specify a final destination for their racehorses. 

It has purchased a historic property with 1,050 acres in Capertree, NSW.  Racing NSW claims the unwanted racehorses that end up there are being re-trained for a future as police horses, companion animals and show jumpers.  The facility also claims to assist returned war veterans with training and there are plans to include a Bed & Breakfast in the near future.  Although we are yet to see any proof that the program is actually underway and saving lives, and there is certainly much room for improvement in its objectives, we acknowledge this is a step in the right direction and an attempt at creating employment in a kinder way.

Why are the racing industries across the board not establishing programs that ensure the wellbeing of horses both before, during and after racing?  Would an improved version of a facility like this not be a worthwhile project for government funding?  TRSA says in its 2018 Annual Report that the industry and its culture is “all about the horse” and maintains that it continues to “take significant steps in focussing on welfare matters” but it does not detail how it is going about that.  If they are making notable improvements, why not name them?

There are many other projects and industries actually completely devoid of cruelty to animals where the SA Government could have invested this $24 million.

Manufacturing environmentally friendly products for the building industry is a big thing in South Australia right now.  Engineering and construction are two of the top growth industries.  Surely these industries are more deserving of a financial boost from public coffers!

South Australia is also ahead of all the other states and territories when it comes to renewable energy.  Despite having only 7.14 % of the continent’s population, SA captures 30% of the nation’s solar power, 56% of wind power that is connected to the grid and a whopping 90% of geothermal energy. 

A privately-funded geothermal project in the north of the state was closed down and deemed not financially viable because the cost of implementing the technology (which was proven to have worked) and delivering the electricity to market outweighed the potential revenue the company could generate.  There was no injection of public funding in this project.  Why not?

Compare this to the racing industry in the state.  The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival in 2019 had only a quarter of the racegoers that it had around ten years ago.  The crowds used to number over 100,000 and nowadays they are lucky to get 20,000.

Perhaps decreasing race day attendance numbers across the state are an indication South Australian’s are becoming all too aware of the inherent cruelty of horse racing. So, why should their tax dollars be used to continue to prop up an industry that is not only cruel but financially unviable?

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Two fierce competitors, in an exciting battle, giving it their all towards the finish line?

Or

Jockeys beating terrified horses with whips as they are pushed beyond their limits to the finish line?

If this picture makes you feel disturbed more so than excited about horse racing, you’re not alone.  Numerous surveys have proven that what most people see in the picture above, is cruelty towards horses. Yet, globally the racing industry and media, continue to depict this very scene as thrilling, entertaining and entirely acceptable.

Let’s face it. Horse racing hasn’t been about horses for decades. Today, racing and gambling is about politics, money and maintaining old traditions – not what is fair or good for horses.  There is a long list of issues associated with using horses for racing.  In that list, is the use of whips. 

Ironically, striking a horse with a whip off the track is deemed as animal cruelty, punishable by law since 1979 (NSW).  If that alone doesn’t arrest the debate on the use of whips, we can continue with the following evidence that is well known:

• Research proved whipping horses does not increase a horse’s performance.
• Whipping in a race increases the physical dangers a horse is exposed to during racing.
• Whipping distress horses, inflicts pain and does not improve safety for riders
• Norway banned the use of whips in horse racing in 1982, without issue.
• Limiting the number of strikes proved jockeys can’t count accurately to 5
• Three quarters of Australians support a ban of the whipping of horses in the racing industry

With eroding public support, diminishing crowds, bad publicity, relentless scrutiny by welfare groups and corporate sponsors disengaging, you would expect Australia’s Racing Industry to be feeling the pressure. Ironically, the Racing Industry as a whole, remain ignorant and painstakingly slow to change.

Jockeys found guilty of breaching the whipping rule, are handed penalties that are minor in comparison to any prize monies and therefore fail to act as a deterrent.

How to help ban the whip –

In the history of humankind, it was never possible to communicate a message to the entire world at once. Today, social media makes this possible.  You have the power to share, inform and influence key stakeholders within the Racing industry on a grand scale via Face Book, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

CPR ask you to continue sharing important information about horse racing with your friends, their friends and corporate sponsors of racing. Whipping horses for thrills and excitement, is far from normal and Australians can and will, force change.

“We love our horses”. How many times have we heard that phrase, from an industry that would like to promote itself as prestigious, civilised and compassionate towards the animals they depend on to make them millions of dollars.

Every year thousands of horses go ‘missing’ from the racing industry, but slowly, the dark veiled side of the horse racing industry is being exposed for the callous, greedy and heartless industry that is really is.

Just last month, it was revealed that Australian racehorses are being sold to South Korea, where many are ending up in slaughterhouses there. As reported recently by PETA Australia, one of the horses unfortunate enough to end up at one of these slaughterhouses was “Bareul Jeong”, half-brother of Winx, where he endured a horrific death.

But can we say that horses here in Australia are guaranteed a long and happy life? The answer is a resounding “no”. Horses are routinely sent to slaughter here in our own country and owners are coming up with more creative ways of making money from horses deemed to be ‘losers’.

At the time of writing, an owner in Tasmania is being investigated for allegedly selling horses to a zoo, where they are fed to the resident big cats.

Ultimately a racehorses’ life is most likely to end either in a slaughterhouse, a knackery or in a paddock, as breeding stock.

In the case of Winx, she will continue to be exploited, forced to be perpetually pregnant, followed by forced separation from her foals. She will be used to keep making her owners millions of dollars, and perhaps some of her offspring will also end up in the same slaughterhouse as her brother. Read more about what Winx future holds here.

It is abundantly clear that these beings are no more than objects for profit, especially evident when horses from the same bloodlines suffer such drastically different fates.

The Australian government has distanced itself from the export trade, but unfortunately, without a government ban, exported horses will continue to meet their fate, in a violent and cruel manner that is unimaginable.

A message from our friends at American based Horse Racing Wrongs.

Horseracing Wrongs is a non-profit dedicated to eradicating horseracing in the United States. Indeed, we are the only organization in the country that is clearly and consistently working toward that end.

For far too long, horseracing has been given cover under the banner of sport – “The Sport of Kings” – when, in fact, stripped to its core, horseracing is nothing but an archaic, largely nonviable gambling business that exploits, abuses, and kills sentient beings, inherently. In other words, it cannot be fixed or reformed; in other words, it is wrong from the start. To be more specific:

Horseracing is unremitting confinement and isolation: The typical racehorse is kept locked – alone – in a tiny 12×12 stall for over 23 hours a day, making a mockery of the industry claim that horses are born to run, love to run, and a cruelty all the worse for being inflicted upon naturally social, herd-oriented animals like horses.

Horseracing is absolute control and utter subjugation – lip tattoos, nose chains, tongue ties, eye blinkers, mouth bits, and, of course, whips.

Horseracing is commodification: In the eyes of the law, racehorses are literal chattel, things to be bought, sold, traded, and dumped whenever and however their people decide. To make matters worse, they are not even afforded the protections, woefully inadequate as most are, of animal-cruelty statutes, meaning a trainer or owner can grind his horse into the ground – yes, even to death – with virtual impunity. What’s more, the average racehorse will change hands several times over the course of his “career,” adding anxiety and stress to an already anxious and stressful existence.

Horseracing is negation: Most all the horse’s natural instincts and desires are thwarted, creating an emotional and mental suffering brought home with crystal clarity in the stereotypies or vices commonly seen in confined racehorses – cribbing, weaving, bobbing, pacing, kicking – even self-mutilation. Says world-renowned equine behaviorist Nick Dodman: “Racehorses, with long periods of confinement and isolation, exhibit an unusually high prevalence of stereotypies. The suffering can be described by referencing the suffering of people in solitary confinement. A recently released man who had spent years in solitary said he sometimes felt anxiety, paranoia, panic, hallucinations etc. The only way he could help suppress the dysphoria was to walk back and forth in his cell until the line he walked was soaked in his sweat.”

And, of course, horseracing is killing: Horseracing Wrongs, primarily through our unprecedented FOIA reporting, has documented over 5,000 confirmed kills on U.S. tracks since 2014 – names, dates, locations. We estimate that over 2,000 horses are killed racing or training across America every year. Over 2,000. Imagine that.

And just to be clear, death on the track is neither clean nor placid: It’s cardiovascular collapse, pulmonary hemorrhage, blunt-force head trauma; it’s broken necks, crushed spines, ruptured ligaments, and shattered legs, occasionally shattered so severely that the limb remains attached to the rest of the body by skin or tendons only.

But that number – 2,000 – staggering though it is, tells but a part of the story. Each year, hundreds more active, mostly-still-in-puberty racehorses die back in their stalls from things like colic, laminitis, infection, or are simply “found dead” in the morning.

Then, too, slaughter. While the industry desperately tries to downplay the extent of the problem, cunningly flashing its zero-tolerance policies and aftercare initiatives in defense, the prevailing wisdom – backed by two scientific studies – is that the vast majority of spent or simply no-longer-wanted racehorses are brutally and violently bled-out and butchered in Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses – over 15,000 Thoroughbreds alone each year. In short, the American horseracing industry is engaged in wholesale carnage. Not hyperbole – carnage.

Truth is, Horseracing is already in decline, and has been for some time: Since 2000, the U.S. industry has suffered a net loss of 35 tracks; all other metrics – racedays, races, field sizes, “foal crop,” and, yes, attendance and handle – are also down. Moreover, a majority of tracks are being wholly propped up by subsidies – corporate welfare. It is unfair and horses continue to suffer (and die) for it.

But beyond the economic realities, sensibilities toward animal exploitation, most especially regarding entertainment, are rapidly changing. In just the past few years:

– SeaWorld, in the wake of outrage over the film Blackfish, has ended the captive-breeding of orcas and remains in a precipitous decline.

– Ringling Bros., after 146 years of animal abuse, has closed its doors for good.

– Both New York and Illinois have outlawed the use of elephants for entertainment.

– The National Aquarium will release all of its remaining captive-dolphins to a seaside sanctuary by 2020.

– Multiple cities, including Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Pasadena, Fort Wayne, and St. Petersburg, have banned the rodeo.

– And just this past November, Floridians voted overwhelmingly – by over 2:1 – to outlaw greyhound racing in that state by the end of next year, a monumental win for animals that will in one fell swoop shutter 11 of the nation’s final 17 tracks – leaving dogracing in America all but dead.

So the question becomes, why should horseracing be exempt? In a landscape that abounds with other gambling (and entertainment) options – casinos, lotteries, real sports involving autonomous human beings – hasn’t the time at long last arrived to stop wagering on the backs of suffering – and dying – animals?

End the cruelty. End the killing. End horseracing.

– Patrick Battuello

Cover Image Source: Sports Illustrated

There has been carnage on racetracks in Victoria and NSW during April 2019, that has resulted in immense suffering of both jockeys and horses. At least ten horses have been killed on the racetrack in these two states alone and many more have been injured.

There has been carnage on racetracks in Victoria and NSW during April 2019, that has resulted in immense suffering of both jockeys and horses. At least ten horses have been killed on the racetrack in these two states alone and many more have been injured.

Injuries in horse racing are extremely common. It is not unusual to witness a horse suffer a catastrophic musculo-skeletal injury or collapse and die due to cardio-vascular/respiratory failure (sudden death).

At Randwick fillies, Bye Bye Belle (aged 3 – 13 April) and Ocean’s Faith (aged 2 – 25 April) collapsed and died in the home straight.  We know that horses who are assessed after racing with evidence of cardiac arrhythmia, are ordered by stewards to undergo an ECG (electrocardiogram) and pass a veterinary check before being allowed to return to the races.  Considering the frequency of this condition, it should be mandatory for all horses to undergo an ECG to at least attempt to identify cardiovascular/respiratory problems before they result in catastrophic deaths. Furthermore,  trainers should undergo further education and be provided with heart-rate meters for the horses they train.

Also at Randwick in NSW on 13 April 2019, Persan and War Baron crashed to the turf in the concluding stages of the race.  While we understand that the jockeys involved were not seriously injured, we have no information on what injuries the horses may have suffered.  Stewards report here.

At Tomingley in NSW on 27 April 2019, three jockeys and three horses, Sikum, Another Plan and Run the Red, crashed to the ground, suffering serious injuries. Jockey M. Hackett (Another Plan) sustained severe head injuries and was airlifted to Liverpool in Sydney in a critical but stable condition. Another Plan was found to have sustained a small abrasion to the nasal area. R. Blewitt (Run the Red) was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in Sydney where he was found to have sustained a fracture to the scapula, a fractured rib and stable in-displaced thoracic spinal fractures. Run the Red was found to have a deep abrasion to the off-fore fetlock as well as a small abrasion to the off-hind. M. Gray (Sikum) was transported to Dubbo hospital where he was found to have sustained a fractured clavicle, a fractured wrist as well as a thoracic spinal fracture. Sikum was found to have a palpable fracture to the nasal bones.  Stewards report here.

We believe the deaths of all active racehorses should be recorded and made public. This includes all horses that die in training, trials, jump-outs, and races. The community is entitled to know.

Summary of the race day deaths in April in NSW and Victoria recorded

VIC 5.4.19	Cranbourne/Trials	Monarch Chimes	7yo gelding/no details
NSW 11.4.19	Rosehill/Trackwork	Categoric	3yo gelding/collapsed and died
VIC 11.4.19	Kyneton Races	Saracentinal	8yo gelding/serious racing injury/euthanised
NSW 12.4.19	Randwick/Jumpout	Mississippi Miss	3yo  filly/collapsed and died
NSW 13.4.19	Randwick Races	Tarka	3yo colt/acute cardiopulmonary failure/euthanised
NSW 13.4.19	Randwick Races	Bye Bye Belle	3yo filly/collapsed and died
VIC 16.4.19	Bendigo Races	Egotist	4yo gelding/serious racing injury/euthanised
VIC 20.4.19	Caulfield Races	Magnapal	4yo gelding/serious racing injury/euthanised
NSW 25.4.19	Randwick Races	Ocean’s Faith	3yo filly/collapsed and died
VIC 27.4.19	Caulfield Races	Columbus Circle	3yo gelding/serious racing injury/euthanised

There is no doubt there are many more deaths that are not recorded as horses who are euthanised off the racetrack do not need to be reported to stewards

Nearly 30 years ago, a Senate Select Committee of Inquiry handed down its recommendations to improve the welfare of racehorses in the racing industries. According to our investigations, none of these recommendations were enforced by State Governments who are responsible for regulating their racing industries and safeguarding the welfare of racehorses on behalf of the public.  With animal welfare now a serious political issue, all animal industries are under intense scrutiny and pressure to improve the welfare of animals they use. 

It is clear from the ongoing carnage on racetracks around the country, that the Federal Government needs to conduct another Inquiry into the horseracing industry in Australia.  

Cover Image Source: ABC News