182 Horses Put to Death in Tas Last Year

Media release – Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, 12 November 2020

HORSE RACING’S INCOVENIENT TRUTH

182 HORSES PUT TO DEATH IN TASMANIA LAST YEAR

Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, has welcomed the Office of Racing Integrity coming clean on horse racing’s ‘inconvenient truth’ – that horses are put to death and made into pet food because they don’t run fast enough.

ORI General Manager and Director of Racing John King called into ABC’s Leon Compton today and confirmed horse racing’s dirty secret – that 123 harness horses and 59 thoroughbreds were killed last year. He said it was the industry’s “inconvenient truth” that two, three and four-year old racehorses were shot in the head because they did not run fast enough.

Listen to Mr King’s interview here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/hobart/programs/mornings/two-three-and-four-year-old-ex-racehorses-shot-in-the-head/12876110

Mr Wilkie last week called for a welfare rule to crack down on owners slaughtering their unwanted racehorses without justification and chopping them up for dogfood, including in their backyards to save on abattoir fees. Mr King agreed that there should be a rule to require an owner to take all reasonable steps to find horses a good home when they retired from the track.

Mr Wilkie said the Racing Minister, Jane Howlett, must now publicly explain why she had dismissed his concerns as baseless, offensive and without fact.*

“Here’s your proof, Minister,” Mr Wilkie said. “Here is racing’s dirty little secret revealed by your own Director of Racing.”

“This is a ghastly circle of cruelty in the racing industry where animals that don’t run fast enough are killed. The horses that don’t run fast enough are fed to the dogs, and if the dogs don’t run fast enough, they’re often put to death if they can’t be rehomed.”

Mr Wilkie said Tasracing lost track of thoroughbreds and harness-racing horses once they retired and there was nothing to prevent owners from slaughtering them. “Tasracing needs to improve its tracking of horses and introduce a welfare rule similar to the one for greyhounds which requires an owner to make all reasonable efforts to avoid euthanasia, which must be performed by a vet,” Mr Wilkie said. “If it’s good enough for dogs, it’s good enough for horses.”

* Tasmanian Times has asked for this correspondence to be made public.

Media release – Jane Howlett, Minister for Racing, 31 October 2020

New support for retired racehorses

Tasracing has launched a new initiative to provide support to retired racehorses as they transition from the racing industry into the community.

The Subsidised Lessons Program will replace the Tasracing-hosted Off The Track (OTT) Clinics with the program launching on 1 November.

New owners of recently retired Standardbreds (harness racing horses) and Thoroughbreds, regardless of whether they made it to the racetrack or not, can apply to Tasracing for vouchers for up to 10 individual lessons with a Tasracing-approved coach.

Lessons may incorporate instruction and support in groundwork, ridden components, horse care and husbandry, nutrition and behaviour.

The program will operate through a voucher system as follows:

• The new owner applies to Tasracing for support.
• If the eligibility criteria are met, vouchers are issued.
• The new owner then arranges the lesson directly with the coach.
• The coach invoices Tasracing.

The OTT Subsidised Lessons Program will operate as a pilot in the first instance and will be reviewed in six months with the intent of up scaling the program.

Full details will be available on the Tasracing website along with the application forms and details of the coaches.

Animal welfare is of critical importance to Tasracing and the Tasmanian Racing Industry. We are investing more money than ever before in supporting the welfare of greyhounds and horses before, during and after their racing careers.

The broader OTT program for Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds is a demonstration of this commitment.