Tuesday marked the beginning of the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival. Six jumps races have been scheduled, including the notorious Grand Annual Steeplechase on Thursday. In just two days, we have seen two horrific falls. Ultimately, the fate of Phaze Action and Our Aristocrat remains unknown. Year after year we see deaths on the track at this Carnival. How many more horses must die before this cruel sport is banned?
In the very first race of the 2012 jumps racing season, Jotilla lost his life. He fell at the second last jump at Sandown, seriously injuring his shoulder - he was then euthanased.
Minister for Racing Denis Napthine described Jotilla’s fall on 3AW as ‘what seemed to be a harmless tumble’ and, when discussing jumps racing, said “I am a veterinarian and I can assure you there is no cruelty involved”. The CEO of the Warrnambool Racing Club John Green also suggested on ABC radio that deaths are just an aspect of jumps racing.
On April 7 at the Oakbank Easter Carnival in South Australia, Victorian horse Virvacity fell, breaking his shoulder. He was also euthanased. Art Success then became the second victim at Oakbank in 2012 and the third horse to lose his life in a jumps race this year.
Clearly, jumps racing can never be safe for horses. Take a stand against animal cruelty and demand our government put a stop to this ‘sport’. In New South Wales, jumps racing is a crime of animal cruelty so why does the Victorian government consider it sport and entertainment?
Instead, the Baillieu Government has invested $2 million of taxpayers' money into the sport.
Please visit our Media page to view footage, images, and to read our media releases.
Rather than supporting an industry that puts horses at an unacceptably high risk of injury or even death, we are asking the Premier to take action today and ban jumps racing.
February 2012
RSPCA Victoria withdraws from horse cruelty prosecution
It is with extreme disappointment that RSPCA Victoria has reluctantly withdrawn from its action against a Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) steward, regarding the injury and subsequent treatment of racehorse ‘Sirrocean Storm’ at Warrnambool in 2010.
Our withdrawal from the case was featured in an article by The Age yesterday, Thursday 1 March, quoting selective excerpts from an equine specialist, Dr. Paul McGreevy, who was willing to go on public record to support the RSPCA’s allegations of the significant pain and suffering endured by Sirrocean Storm during the incident.
Dr. McGreevy, a veterinarian that works on the faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney provided expert opinion to the RSPCA’s prosecution team, backed by his extensive experience in veterinary behavioural medicine. His credentials also extend to author of over 120 peer reviewed papers, and six books on veterinary science including equine behaviour.
Unlike three additional veterinarians also quoted within the article in The Age who publicly opposed Dr. McGreevy’s expert opinion, Dr. McGreevy does not have any affiliations with the racing industry. However, given Dr. McGreevy’s extensive research into the use of whips within horse racing, the RSPCA did understand that there would be stakeholders within the industry looking to discredit his views.
RSPCA Victoria has actively pursued this prosecution since 2010 and we firmly believed we had a strong case. Regardless of when or where this incident happened, the RSPCA considers the pain and suffering endured by Sirrocean Storm as animal cruelty. However for various reasons, some of which have recently surfaced, the RSPCA had to withdraw from the prosecution.
Dr. McGreevy’s comments within the article in The Age, obtained from legal documents not disclosed in court, were neither printed in their entirety, nor in context. Furthermore, Dr. McGreevy was not contacted directly by the journalist nor was he asked for comment. And the RSPCA was similarly not contacted by the journalist to ask why it had withdrawn from the case.
For these reasons, the RSPCA seriously questions the motivation behind the article. Despite public statements by RVL executives saying that they would assist the RSPCA with its investigation, one of the difficulties encountered in this prosecution was that the RSPCA was unable to access a number of documents, including those relating to the internal investigation of the incident, held by RVL. These were subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by RVL. The RSPCA faced a number of other challenges - finding an expert equine specialist without ties to the racing industry who would be willing for their testimony to come under scrutiny in a court of law, and the fact that various witnesses to the incident were either not willing to discuss the incident with the RSPCA or were not forthcoming with all relevant information.
The RSPCA was devastated that it was unable to proceed with this case, but will not be deterred from prosecuting any similar incidents in the future.
The RSPCA believes that the footage of what transpired during this incident speaks for itself. What do you think? You can view the footage below. Please note words expressed within the footage are not those of the RSPCA. We would also advise viewer discretion as parts of the footage will be distressing for some viewers.
WARNING - scenes within this footage will be distressing to some viewers
Jumps racing is a dying sport. Make your opposition known.
RSPCA Victoria was appalled to learn that Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL) has announced major funding to boost jumps racing in Victoria, with a 26 per cent increase in prize money to $3.2 million next year. This announcement has been made despite RVL Executives having previously admitted on numerous occasions that jumps racing has negatively affected the reputation of the entire racing industry.
Plans are also underway to increase the number of venues with the addition of two new tracks. The announced funding is in addition to the $2 million the Baillieu Government has promised the sport over four years.
RSPCA is astonished that Racing Victoria would invest additional funding into this cruel sport and abolish KPI’s that were designed as standards of safety. Increased funding and more venues for the sport will result in many more horses dying, as jumps racing horses are placed at a high risk of injuries and death. Some might say this could be a very detrimental move for RVL as a survey completed by AusPoll on behalf of RVL indicated that 65 per cent of Victorians surveyed believed that the incidents that occur in jumps racing are not an acceptable price to pay for the retention of the sport. This is aligned with similar research undertaken by RSPCA in 2009 which found 74% of 18-34 people aged years want jumps racing banned. The RSPCA would say how on earth could alienating this key demographic further be for the greater good of the racing industry as a whole and its wilting attendance figures?
Indeed, jumps racing reflects negatively on Victorian racing. Attendance figures for Spring Racing state that in 2010 664,841 people attended events, down by 7.3% on 2009 attendance of 719,768, and down on 2008 attendance of 758,663.
Key Performance Indicator statistics have also been scrapped, which previously had been used to measure injuries and fatalities. Instead, the industry will now monitor the casualty rate on an ongoing basis. Safety reforms of the sport have been unsuccessful, and now RVL’s own safety standards have been abolished. Clearly, jumps racing can never be safe.
Jumps racing is a small, unpopular and unprofitable aspect of the racing industry in Australia. This is an extremely poor effort for the amount of pain and suffering endured each year on jumps racing tracks across Victoria. Nobody wants to see horses suffer through jumps racing for the entertainment of a minority.
Jumps racing is a dying sport. Make a stand against RVL’s hypocrisy and help us to end this cruelty today. Contact Premier Baillieu in the Take Action bar.
Jumps racing - the issue
Jumps racing is an extremely dangerous sport in which horses must jump high fences, at high speed. It has been reported that jumps races, which are normally run over greater distances than flat races, are ten times more dangerous than flats racing. Jumping places both the jockey and horse under immense pressure and at high risk of injury.
In a jumps race there is a one in 14 chance of injury and a one in 116 chance of death for the racehorse.
There are two types of jumps races in Victoria - hurdles and steeplechases. A hurdles event is run over a distance of between 3000 and 3500 metres. A steeplechase event is run over a longer distance, usually between 3500 and 5500 metres.The obstacles in steeplechase races (fences) are also taller than hurdles.
Jumps horses are not bred for jumping
The horses that compete in jumps races in Victoria are usually retired or failed flat race horses. These horses are entered in jumps races to extend their racing lives and to recoup money spent on their early careers. Sadly this money is put ahead of the horse's welfare.
One of the most famous and dangerous jumps racing events in Victoria is the Grand Annual Steeplechase in Warrnambool. This race is run over a distance 5,500 metres and 33 fences. It's not surprising that this and other similar races at Warrnambool have claimed the lives of many jumps horses. This race alone is 2,300 metres longer than the Melbourne Cup, with horses jumping obstacles all the way to the finish line.
Jumps racing shouldn't be the graveyard for former flat racers. The racing industry has a responsibility to ensure that horses that are bred for racing live a long and good life after their racing careers have ended. The welfare of horses should not be compromised because the horses are not fast enough for conventional flats racing.
Compromising welfare for little return
Jumps racing is a small, unpopular and unprofitable aspect of the racing industry in Australia. Jumps racing only accounts for 0.71%* of turnover in racing and the amounts wagered on jumps racing are consistently lower than amounts wagered on flats. Wagering has also sharply declined since 2006, as awareness of the welfare issues involved has increased (Racing Victoria Limited Review, 2009). This is an extremely poor return for the amount of pain and suffering endured each year on jumps racing tracks across Victoria.
The TAB figures for the 2011 Warrnambool Carnival shows that $496,000 was wagered on the premier jumps race of the year, the Grand Annual steeplechase. In comparison, $1 million was wagered on a flats race at the same carnival.
The community doesn't support jumps racing
Independent market research (conducted by Footprints Market Research, 2009) illustrated the community are not happy to continue compromising the welfare of horses in jumps racing events.Key findings included:
76% of females want jumps racing banned.
74% of 18-34 people aged years want jumps racing banned.
43% feel less favourable about the industry because of jumps racing.
36% feel less favourable towards sponsors of the racing industry because of jumps racing.
25% either no longer attend race meetings or will consider not attending in the future because of jumps racing.
This is very similar to a 2009 review commissioned by Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) which found '65% of people believe that the incidents that occur in jumps racing are not an acceptable price to pay for the retention of the sport'. Surprisingly, RVL has allowed this cruel sport to continue, to the detriment of horse welfare and their racing industry.
Despite this significant opposition, the Victorian State Government has committed to spending $2 million of taxpayers' money to promote and develop jumps racing.
* Based on calculations from wagering during the 2011 jumps racing season.
Take action
Contact Premier Baillieu Demand our Premier intervene and stops this cruelty now.
The Hon. Ted Baillieu
Premier of Victoria
Level 1, 1 Treasury Place
Melbourne VIC 3002 EEmail Ted Baillieu
Contact RVL's Chairman
Demand RVL stop jumps racing now P 03 9258 1222 E Email Michael Duffy
Register for RSPCA campaign updates Stay informed about the jumps racing issue. Register your email.
History
Jumps racing has been slowly phased out, deemed unacceptable or classified as cruelty in all states of Australia except Victoria and South Australia.
Queensland: banned in 1903.
New South Wales: became a criminal offence in 1997.
Tasmania: ceased in 2007 due to high costs and lack of interest.
Western Australia, ACT, Northern Territory: it has never been a major part of the racing scene despite attempts to introduce it.
In 1991 a Federal Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare recommended the phasing out of jumps racing in all states over three years. Sadly key decision makers ignored this recommendation with fatal consequences.
Horses continued to be injured in jumps races and it was not until many horses had died, including three horses at the 2009 Warrnambool Racing Carnival, that Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) suspended jumps racing across the state. Sadly, just seven weeks later, RVL then bowed to industry pressure to resume this cruel sport with the introduction of Key Performance Indicators. Tragically, five more horses died that season.
Key Performance Indicators
RVL allowed jumps racing to continue in Victoria during 2010 based on the industry meeting certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It was assumed if these KPIs were not met, jumps racing should have ceased. KPI 1: A reduction in the fall rate from 5% to 3% of starters In the 2010 jumps racing season, 15 horses or 3.6% of starters fell, which was higher than the target of 3%.
KPI 2: A reduction in the on-track death rate by half to 0.65% of starters.
The 2010 fatality rate was 0.48%, within the ‘allowable death’ quota. To allow any deaths related to the use of animals in sport in unacceptable and this acceptable rate is 15 times that of flats racing, illustrating the high risk of this sport.
KPI 3: Increased racehorse participation, 80% of races must not have less than eight horses in a single race. In 2010, only 37% of races had more than eight starters and the average number of starters was 7.2.
Following the failure of jumps racing to achieve its KPIs in 2010, RVL has now adopted a single KPI in 2011 covering a rolling average of deaths. This average was 0.65% of starters over the years 2010-2012 for hurdles and 0.65% of starters over the years 2010-2011 for steeples.
Although Victoria horses may be fatally injured in South Australia or in jumps trials, these are not included when calculating these averages.
Take action
Contact Premier Baillieu Demand our Premier intervene and stops this cruelty now.
The Hon. Ted Baillieu
Premier of Victoria
Level 1, 1 Treasury Place
Melbourne VIC 3002 EEmail Ted Baillieu
Contact RVL's Chairman Demand RVL stop jumps racing now P 03 9258 1222 E Email Michael Duffy
Register for RSPCA campaign updates Stay informed about the jumps racing issue. Register your email.
Pro-jumping arguments
The industry regularly touts that jumps racing is a good, wholesome, economically viable sport that is invaluable to Victorian society. The RSPCA absolutely disputes these claims maintains that jumps racing puts horses at an unacceptably high risk of injury and even death.
Jumps racing supporters say that the sport is part of Australia’s proud horse racing tradition. However, tradition can never be used to justify cruelty towards animals. In Australia, jumps racing has never been a part of the mainstream racing scene outside of Victoria or South Australia. Even in these states it forms a small percentage of the races run.
If you accept this argument, it could just as easily be argued that activities such as dog or cock fights (which are not acceptable sports in Australia) are also ‘traditional’ in some societies and should therefore be allowed.
Over many decades, the industry has been given the opportunity to make jumps racing safer for horses and jockeys alike. There have been multiple safety reviews, and these have included consultations with animal welfare bodies such as the RSPCA. However, despite these reviews and recommendations, and despite RVL claiming that jumps racing is the safest it’s ever been we continue to see horses die in the name of sport.
During the 2011 season 6 horses died in Victoria with a further 5 dying in South Australia. It’s clear that jumps racing can never be safe.
'..(some horses] smile when they see a jump and go for it'.
Victorian Racing Minister Denis Napthine (Herald Sun, 2 May, 2011)
Our Racing Minister and the jumps racing industry in Victoria suggest that horses 'love to jump'. The truth is that horses only jump obstacles at full gallop because they are forced to do so.
Horses are intelligent animals with a high level of perception of their environment. If they approached an obstacle that required jumping over in the natural environment, the horse’s reaction would be to slow down, assess the obstacle and adjust their gait accordingly. Survival instincts suggest that horses are unlikely to jump over obstacles at full speed and risk injury or death. Most horses losing their riders during jumps races (which happens frequently) choose to run around hurdles and steeples rather than to continue jumping.
Horses are not evolved to be natural jumpers as they have:
Laterally placed eyes which restricts forward vision and their ability to judge the distance and position of an approaching obstacle at speed.
Heavy frames which makes it difficult to lift their own weight over obstacles.
An inflexible spine which makes it physically difficult to compensate for jumping errors.
Long limbs which become extended when galloping, making it difficult to adjust stride as they approach jumps at high speed.
Jumps racing pushes horses far beyond their natural limits. It exposes these animals to a much higher risk of musculoskeletal injuries, physiological stress, other injuries and death when compared to flats racing.
Jumps racing pushes horses far beyond their natural limits.It exposes these animals to a much higher risk of, musculoskeletal injuries, physiological stress, other injuries and death when compared to flat racing.
A knackery is where horses and other animals are sent to slaughter. Sadly, most ex-race horses are sent to knackeries once their racing career has ended, with many not given an opportunity to be re-homed. Many people within the jumps racing industry claim that jumps racing saves horses from the knackery. Sadly, most trainers have already determined that their horse’s fate is the knackery and jumps racing merely delays in the inevitable. Even worse, the dangerous nature of jumps racing puts horses at a high risk of a slow and agonising death from a jumps-related fall.
In 2010 across Australia, 31,773 horses were trained to compete in horse racing events (Australian Racing Fact Book, 2010). Sadly for those competing in Victoria, the industry does not provide a widespread re-homing initiative that would offer them a life after racing. The RSPCA recommends that the Victorian thoroughbred racing industry follow the lead of Greyhound Racing Victoria who has implemented their highly successful Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP).
There is significant hype around the spectacle of jumps racing but the truth is a race with a handful of starters is certainly not a spectacle and either is watching horses and jockeys fall.
One race last year had only two starters and a number of others have had less than five. Jumps races also have a higher rate of horses failing to finish as compared to flats races, with nearly 20% of starters not reaching the finish line for a variety of reasons. Horses that do finish often struggle many tens of lengths after the winner and are never in contention. Sadly, this doesn't stop many riders continuing to whip their horses even though they have no chance of success.
The RSPCA finds it disgusting that the sight of horses being driven at high speed over jumps, where any miscalculation can result in a fall or a death, is described as an exciting spectacle. Each and every race is a gamble with death. The Australian Jumps Racing Association's own President Rodney Rae has suggested this risk is acceptable:
'In any endeavour involving animals you are going to have casualties. Our aim is to minimise the risk' (Herald Sun, 4 April, 2011).
'The racing industry accepts that deaths will occur in racing' (The Australian, 17 May, 2010).
It is unnecessary and indefensible in contemporary society for horses to be put at risk of injury and death for the entertainment of a minority. The jumps racing industry may try to implement risk management through its KPIs, but a jumps race cannot be run safely and humanely no matter how much time, effort and resources are placed on improving safety.
Jumps racing supporters claim a large number of jobs are supported by jumps racing however the facts are:
All the trainers who train jumps racers also train flats racers so these trainers would have an alternative income source.
The Australian Jumps Racing Association’s own website shows that few trainers, jockeys or horses actually make much money (and many win nothing at all).
If jumps races were replaced by other forms of racing then the same number of people would be needed to support the extra races.
Regional events such as the Warrnambool Racing Carnival would not collapse - locals don't attend this event to just watch jumps racing. This carnival is a day out for those wanting to socialise and have a 'flutter' on the races.
When the RSPCA is successful in achieving a permanent ban, it is the responsibility of RVL to make plans for transitioning any jumps jockeys and trainers to other positions in the racing industry. Aside from making this decision in the best interest of jumps racing horses, RVL could actually earn more from betting if jumps were replaced with flats races. It simply doesn't make sense for races with the lowest wagers placed, to have the highest prize money thanks to tax payer funded support from of the State Government.
Take action
Contact Premier Baillieu Demand our Premier intervene and stops this cruelty now.
The Hon. Ted Baillieu
Premier of Victoria
Level 1, 1 Treasury Place
Melbourne VIC 3002 EEmail Ted Baillieu
Contact RVL's Chairman Demand RVL stop jumps racing now P 03 9258 1222 E Email Michael Duffy
Register for RSPCA campaign updates Stay informed about the jumps racing issue. Register your email.
Media and resources
Below you will find links to articles, images and videos. Please be aware that some of the videos and images may be distressing.
Phaze Action's horrific fall at the Warrnambool Racing Carnival in May 2012.
Jumps race horses face a one in 10 chance of injury.
Bugatti Royale was injured during a jumps race at Sandown in 2009.
Pride of Westbury died after breaking his neck at a Warrnambool jumps racing event in 2009.
Prince Vitality was the second victim of
the 2010 Victorian jumps racing season when he fell and broke his
shoulder during a Casterton jumps racing event.
Jumps racing only accounts for 0.71%* of
turnover in racing. An extremely poor return for the amount pain and
suffering endured each year on jumps racing tracks across Victoria.
* Based on calculations from wagering during the 2011 jumps racing season.
The jumps racing industry may try to
implement risk management, but a jumps race cannot be run safely and
humanely no matter how much time, effort and resources are placed on
improving safety.
Meet Virvacity
Victorian horse Virvacity tragically died in a jumps race in South Australia on the 7th April. On the very first day of the Oakbank Easter Carnival, he fell, breaking his shoulder. He was then euthanased.
Sadly, Virvacity’s death is not the first. It’s not even the first of the season. In the very first race of the 2012 Victorian jumps racing season Jotilla lost his life after suffering a similar injury, and at the very same event in Oakbank where Virvacity died, Art Success also lost his life.
Tuesday marked the beginning of the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival, home to the notorious Grand Annual Steeplechase. In just two days, we have seen two horrific falls. Ultimately, the fate of Phaze Action and Our Aristocrat remains unknown.
Year after year horses needlessly die in this ‘sport’ and despite numerous reviews by the industry over many years it is clear that jumps racing can never be safe. As long as this ‘sport’ continues, horses will die.
During the 2011 season, 6 horses lost their lives in Victoria. In NSW jumps racing is considered a crime of animal cruelty. Horses should not be placed at this unacceptably high risk of death just for the entertainment of a minority.
Take action today to demand an end to jumps racing. We need to let the Premier and Racing Victoria know that enough is enough.
There are 4 important steps you can take today to demand an end to the cruel ‘sport’ of jumps racing:
Contact Premier Ted Baillieu and
RVL Chairman Michael Duffy
You can email the Premier at ted.baillieu@parliament.vic.gov.au or email Michael Duffy at m.duffy@racingvictoria.net.au
(or, why not email them both!) and tell them you do not support jumps racing as it places horses at an unacceptably high risk of injury and even death.
Increase your impact by writing a letter to the Premier (you may also wish to write to the Chairman of RVL, Michael Duffy), signing it and posting it to his office. We have put together some information to help you get started.
You can also phone the Premier and RVL, and tell them you want this cruelty banned.
Premier Ted Baillieu: (03) 9882 4088 Minister Denis Napthine: (03) 5562 8230 Racing Victoria: (03) 9258 4258
Stay informed and updated
You can email us at campaigns@rspcavic.org.au to be added to our campaign mailing list. We’ll keep you updated and share with you any progress we are making on this issue, including updates from fellow organisations such as the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.
You will also receive important updates on some of our other animal welfare campaigns.
Would you like to support our important campaign work?
If you have the time and want to help protect animals, you could register to become a campaign volunteer and help promote our important work throughout Victoria. Campaign volunteers will predominantly work from home and the time commitment can be flexible. Simply contact us at campaigns@rspcavic.org.au to register your interest and to find out more.
With no government funding supporting our campaign work, we rely solely on the generosity of the community to be able to spread our important animal welfare messages. Our work to ban duck shooting simply would not be possible without the help of those who are passionate about animal welfare. You can donate today to help support this vital aspect of our work.
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