Transcript
Di: It's unacceptable to whip a horse thereby causing pain. There's been a number of studies which provide evidence that whipping doesn't improve performance, aren't essential for safety reasons, and that punters are likely to continue gambling even if whips aren't used.
Brian: Hello and welcome to RSPCA Australia's Great and Small Talk, where we discuss the pressing welfare issues animals face in Australia. I'm Brian Daly, and today we're talking about the welfare concerns surrounding horses in the thoroughbred racing industry. And we're joined by two experts from RSPCA Australia today, RSPCA Australia's Chief Science Officer and veterinarian, Dr Suzie Fowler, and veterinarian and Senior Scientific Officer at RSPCA Australia, Dr Di Evans, Suzie and Di, welcome to the podcast.
Di: Thanks, Brian.
Suzie: Thanks Brian, thanks for having us.
Brian: I'm pleased we have two of you here to discuss this today, because horse racing is a huge industry. It's worth billions, even before we start talking about the 20 billion gambled on racing each year, and it's presented as an iconic Australian pastime with race meets at tracks throughout cities and towns across the country. But at the centre of it are these thoroughbred horses that the whole industry is literally riding on. Can you tell us the key welfare issues for the horses in the racing industry?
Suzie: Yeah thanks, Brian. There's actually quite a number of issues which can cause significant risks to racehorse welfare. Firstly, in the thoroughbred racing industry, the horses actually have a very high risk of injury, which obviously can go on to cause not just short term welfare issues, but long term welfare challenges for the horses. And indeed, there's actually a risk of death for some of these animals as well. And we certainly see that sometimes reported in the media when death does occur. A lot of these risks are actually worse for younger thoroughbred horses, around the two year mark is sometimes when they start to race, and from our perspective, and what the evidence shows is that horses really need a thorough veterinary exam before they are allowed to race, and that's what we would call for to ensure that they've had scans and X-rays, and primarily that comes down to their bone health, to try and minimise that risk of injury that can be so catastrophic that they need euthanasia. So the point is trying to avoid that. And as I said, it's worse in the younger animals.
Di: A really important welfare issue which I've been working on for the past few years is the use of painful devices, and it's primarily whips. So the RSPCA is strongly advocated for the end of whips in racing. And basically it's unacceptable to whip a horse, thereby causing pain, and when this whipping increases at the end of a race, forcing them to gallop faster when they're actually exhausted. So there's been a number of studies which provide evidence that counter industry claims as to why whips are needed, and these have shown that whipping doesn't improve performance, aren't essential for safety reasons, and that punters are likely to continue gambling even if whips aren't used. And slow speed video has shown skin indentations where horses have been whipped with considerable force, and there can really be no dispute that this has to hurt.
Suzie: Yeah, so in addition to some of these really visible sort of impacts that the horses can have, one of the other issues that exists is that there's very little collection of statistics or data on what happens with racehorses. And we're certainly worried about the transparency, or the lack thereof in the racehorse industry as to what happens with these animals. So how many thoroughbred horses are born every year? How many go into racing? How many are rehomed either, you know, when they're trained and perhaps aren't ... don't quite make the cut, or how many actually euthanised as well? And so there is variation to that in each state and territory as to how well that is reported on, but there isn't great traceability of every individual horse. And so that's another concern for sure, of the RSPCA, and then another one, which also sort of happens behind closed doors, unfortunately, is the use of illegal substances and drugs. So doping of horses and continues to plague the industry, and we hear about it sometimes when it ... when it comes to the surface, and somebody's identified as ... as using drugs, and sometimes the drugs are used to mask injury, to ensure a horse can race, even though they might be already suffering from from an injury. But they can also be used to enhance performance, building muscle mass, using steroids and things like that. And even more so these days, there's emerging threats in the doping side of things, with gene manipulation even being used we're hearing, so, you know, there's quite a ... there's quite a number of things that perhaps aren't really noticeable to the community, but are definitely welfare concerns to do with thoroughbred racing.
Di: And welfare issues don't just relate to injuries, whips and banned substances, but fundamentally, there are real problemsin how horses are managed, and this relates to the stabling and feeding, which basically is unnatural, resulting in them being isolated from direct contact with other horses, suffering even gastric ulcers. And in addition, extreme boredom and frustration lead to abnormal behaviors which are detrimental to their health and welfare.
Suzie: Yeah, so Brian, you can see the list is quite long, and it goes on and on about some of these underlying welfare concerns that exist in the industry. And what is particularly concerning is that there's no nationally agreed animal welfare standards for the care and for the welfare standards that these animals must be kept to. In fact, the industry is largely self-regulated, which is definitely concerning given the breadth and number of welfare issues.
Brian: Supporters could argue the concerning number of injuries and deaths could happen anywhere or they're part of life or an acceptable risk. Why is that view problematic?
Di: Well, although racehorses are portrayed as extreme athletes, their training and racing regimes, at high speed and over long distances, can actually push them over their physiological limit, and this leads to a high risk of bone and muscle fatigue and subsequent injuries, which obviously are painful and debilitating, and is one of the main reasons why there's such a high turnover rate of horses leaving the industry. For an animal who lives for 25 to 30 years on average, thoroughbreds only have about three years racing. And why is this? Well, a key factor, as shown by a number of studies, is that injured horses are not given sufficient time to recover, and this is likely due to financial pressures to get them back on the race track as soon as possible. And so what happens? They inevitably break down, and this results in these injured horses having an uncertain future.
Brian: And that's the thing, isn't it? There is a lot of money literally riding on this, so it does compromise the idea that the welfare should be put forward. You mentioned whips as a great example earlier, but what about things like tongue ties? What are they and should they be used?
Di: Yeah, this is a good question, and most people wouldn't have heard of these. But tongue ties, as the name suggests, involves tying a band tightly around the tongue and lower jaw, usually made out of nylon or latex, and studies have shown that this causes extreme discomfort and in some cases pain and injury, and they're commonly used by some individual trainers with with some individual horses having one applied every time they race. So trainers use tongue ties to prevent the horse getting their tongue over the bit. And the bit is a piece of equipment put in the mouth as part of the bridle, which is essentially used to control the horse through cues on the reins. But there's also a school of thought that tongue ties prevent choking by the tongue obstructing their airway during racing or high exercise. However, studies have shown that they're limited or not even effective improving upper airway function, so the RSPCA strongly advocates against the use of tongue ties as they cause pain, and there is insufficient evidence that they are even necessary.
Brian: And what about jumps racing? Are they still held in Australia?
Suzie: Yeah, sadly, hurdle and steeple chases, which collectively known as jumps racings, are still held in Australia, but actually only in Victoria now, and so it was as recent as last year I believe that South Australia ended jumps racing, and of course, we've spoken about a number of issues with the horse racing industry, but jumps racing poses additional significant risks to injury and death of horses, and studies have shown that that rate of injury and death is much greater in these steeple chases and hurdle races. The horses are actually forced to race over quite long distances; some of these races can go for three to five kilometers, and obviously with quite a heavy weight of themselves and trying to clear obstacles that can be about a meter high, and so that puts additional force on the on the body of the horse, which can increase that risk of injury and death. They do actually account for only a very small number of races in Victoria and the RSPCA is certainly hopeful that they will cease some time in the short term future.
Brian: That would be good to see. There's a term "wastage" that I'm sure people have heard. But can you tell us what wastage is and what contributes to it and what needs to be done to stop it?
Di: Yeah, so wastage is a term used to describe those horses who are bred but are not used for the purpose for which they were bred for. And from what we can estimate, only about 40% of horses born will actually race. So put simply, there are more horses who are surplus to the requirements of the racing industry than those who are used by the racing industry. So, problem number one is that every year, there are 1000s of horses who never race, and so need to be rehomed. Then on top of this, the turnover rate is very high because racing depends basically on a numbers game. To fill race fields and to have the next champion, the industry needs to breed a lot more horses than they will ever actually use, and we now know that in the past, 1000s of racehorses were being killed every year, but it's impossible to see how the industry is going to be able to fix this problem, as only a relatively small proportion will be used in equestrian events such as eventing or recreational riding. And as we know, horses can live for around 25 to 30 years, and they're expensive to keep, as well as needing a lot of space, good facilities and owners who know how to look after them properly, there's only so many homes who can meet these needs. And with the industry now in the spotlight on this issue, they have a huge challenge to ensure that horses born into the racing industry have a good life for their whole life.
Brian: And what laws are there in Australia to safeguard the welfare of race horses, and are they effective?
Suzie: Yeah, so animal welfare regulations in Australia are managed by the states and territories, and so each state and territory has its own Animal Welfare Act, or Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Acts, so POCTA, and these Acts cover general provisions to prevent cruelty, but they don't necessarily go far enough as to the standards of looking after horses and things like that. So in addition to the Acts and regulations, there are some animal welfare standards and codes, but these mostly actually refer to farm animals, and there isn't actually a standard code of practice or a standard and guideline for the welfare of horse races, or indeed for the welfare of horses in Australia. And historically, the racing industry has voluntary standards a lot of the time, and they're regulated through their own rules of racing, which allows industry practices, and that's how they're regulated, and that's one of the very few ways that the race horse industry is regulated, often through their own stewards, doing assessments and things like that, without a lot of external oversight. So some of these welfare standards under legislation and the rules of racing are even developed solely by the industry, and they're not focused on the welfare of the horse. They're actually ... they cover off all sorts of different parts of regulation of the horse racing industry, and maybe have a very light touch on a couple of components of horse welfare. And so what we would actually like to see is public consultation for a national standard that can be consistently applied to all states and territories for the welfare of race horses across the nation. And as I said before, in terms of regulation, it's all left down to industry, except for perhaps in Queensland, where they do have an independent integrity body. But most of the other states and territories, as I said, they're self-regulating, which is completely unacceptable, and that needs to change.
Brian: What needs to be done then to fix these problems now?
Di: So firstly, coming back to the number of race horses, there is a massive oversupply, and to us, it's the most significant and challenging issue for the racing industry, as they need to take responsibility to ensure that all horses born have good welfare and a good life for their entire life. And to do this, there must be a cap on breeding so that the number of horses leaving the industry does not exceed the number born, and that every horse suitable for rehoming is rehomed for the remainder of their life. This is such an urgent priority, and we're pushing very hard that this is addressed as soon as possible. The other big issue, of course, are injury and deaths. These have to be reduced. The use of whips and tongue ties ceased, and horses in training must be better cared for through access to pasture, to graze naturally and have social contact with our horses.
Suzie: Yeah, and if I can just pick up on a couple of other things that we would call for, as I spoke to earlier, there really is a lack of transparency in the industry, and that lack of accountability with the collation of key statistics, the number of horses bred, raced, rehomed, where they end up, and to ensure that that's publicly available, because that transparency is really so crucial to ensuring the public confidence in this very large, as you say, very financially-driven industry, and the development of strong mandatory welfare standards that have been developed through public consultation with people who understand animal welfare, and animal welfare science is really critical, and for that to be regulated through an independent body, rather than this self-regulation pattern that we see at the moment. And so whilst there might be a lot of issues, there is actually a pathway to improving a lot of these problems in the horse racing industry, and we do hope to develop those relationships with the industry, government and others over the coming years, and get everyone around the table to try and make some of these improvements.
Brian: Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot that can be done here, so that's ... that's good, that there is that pathway forward, as you say. And it is an important topic, because it affects so many horses, 1000s and 1000s of animals, and the stress they're put under and the welfare issues they're facing are all down to our behaviors as humans, our support of this pastime. So there's an enormous opportunity there, as you say, for change, if enough people who love these horses speak out about it.
Suzie: Yeah, absolutely. I think there's no doubt, as you say, that the people who work for these horses love them and want to care for them to the highest standards. But I think the animal welfare science and the expectations of how we care for animals has moved quite considerably over the last couple of decades, and the expectations of the public are much higher as to how we care for animals, especially where humans benefit so significantly from them, so we have this obligation, and I think there really is that responsibility within the industry and for groups like ours and others to speak up and as I said, hopefully come together to be able to address some of these issues, work together to find ways to improve them, show greater transparency and take on some of that feedback.
Di: Yeah, these issues aren't currently being addressed satisfactorily, and horses will continue to suffer. And like you say, we need people to question perhaps tradition and how horses have been treated and managed and used in the racing industry and do better. And this is important for the industry social license and therefore their long-term viability.
Brian: Thanks so much for talking with us today, Suzie and Di, thanks again for all the work you're doing to look for a better outcome for these animals.
Di: Thank you, Brian, for the opportunity.
Suzie: Excellent. Thank you very much, Brian.
Brian: We've been talking today with Dr Suzie Fowler, RSPCA Australia's Chief Science Officer and Dr Di Evans, Senior Scientific Officer at RSPCA Australia. And thank you for listening. If you would like any more information on the welfare of racehorses, visit RSPCA Australia's website at rspca.org.au. You can also subscribe to the podcast series at the website or at all the usual podcast suspects. I'm Brian Daly, and I look forward to your company next time on RSPCA Australia's Great and Small Talk.
