Petition, anger at bail-out
Shocked and angry welfare group to send petition against Government racing funding to PM Jacinda Ardern.
As the racing industry continues to toast a mega-million dollar financial shot in the arm, New Zealand animal welfare groups are outraged, shocked and angry over the taxpayer-funded bail-out.
So much so, the Coalition for The Protection of Racehorses has started a petition it plans to send to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in response to the recent announcement that the Government was pledging a $72.5 million emergency support package for the struggling industry.
As strange as it sounds given New Zealand is facing so many post-Covid-19 issues, the racing support package – announced by Minister for Racing Winston Peters – has arguably been the most polarising item in the budget.
Those involved in racing and those against it have staunch views on either side of the fence and the gate of harmony is some way from swinging open freely.
By 4pm yesterday, the Coalition for
The Protection of Racehorses’ petition secured 2841 signatures in six days. It has a goal of 5000.
The organisation told the Sunday StarTimes it is shocked and angered to hear of Peters’ slogan to ‘‘make racing great again’’.
‘‘The public are asking why their tax money is being spent on a sport that hurts and exploits animals for entertainment, and baffled that racing is even considered an essential sport at a time when New Zealanders’ priority should be their health and their lives.’’
It is not the only group outraged by the support of the racing industry.
‘‘The Government is pouring $72.5 million into a dying industry that exploits animals for the sake of gambling profits and entertainment,’’ SAFE campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald said.
Aaron Cross, co-founder of The Greyhound Protection League of New Zealand, said Kiwis should not stand for their taxes being frittered away on ‘‘an industry that relies on mistreatment of animals to operate’’.
Cross described racing as a dying and cruel industry.
‘‘It’s failing for a reason. That reason is, people don’t support animal cruelty like they used to.
‘‘It is unacceptable that legitimate, honest, ethical New Zealanders’ businesses are going under as a result of the virus, and yet here we are bailing out dog killers and horse beaters.’’ But opinions across participants in the three racing codes counter those claims by saying the majority – if not all – are misinformed, exaggerated, and way off the mark.
Of the $72.5m, $50m will provide direct relief for the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) – $26m of which will be directed to outstanding supplier commitments.
Peters made the point that the $50m was not a Government bailout of a betting agency.
‘‘Past studies indicate racing contributes $1.6 billion to the economy each year. There are 15,000 full-time racing industry jobs and nearly 60,000 jobs which participate in the industry in some shape,’’ Peters said.
RITA, a reconstitution of the New Zealand Racing Board, helps fund the three racing codes to fund stakes and props up racing clubs from TAB profits.
If the Government let RITA fall over, the racing industry would effectively go with it, placing uncertainty over the future of thousands of racehorses and greyhounds.
‘‘We strongly believe that employment shouldn’t involve animal abuse. Times change and evolve.
‘‘The racing industry is responsible and accountable for every horse that is bred so they should already be prepared, with a plan in place, to make sure that all racehorses are accounted for and homed properly if racing
were to finish,’’ the Coalition for The Protection of Racehorses said.
‘‘If our taxes are to be used to fund a degenerate vice, then that industry needs to come fully clean on its treatment of animals,’’ Cross said in a statement that was verified by the
Star-Times.
He also raised concerns about future funding from taxpayers, given Peters said the announcement ‘‘is the first step towards a long term restoration of racing’’ and that ‘‘recapitalisation options’’ for RITA are being considered.
‘‘It’s only a matter of time before racing comes begging again,’’ Cross said.
‘‘Just because horse racing has been a Kiwi institution for so many years doesn’t make it acceptable in the 21st century, just like using animals in circuses or rodeo isn’t now acceptable,’’ the Coalition for The Protection of Racehorses said.
Cross wants greater transparency around the deaths and injuries of horses in racing, and said the numbers of deaths in greyhound racing have already been proven to be appalling.
The findings of the Hansen report, released in 2017, alarmingly revealed 1447 greyhounds had been euthanised in four years between 2013-17, and 1271 dogs were unaccounted for during that same period.
But Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) chief executive Glenda Hughes said multiple independent welfare initiatives recommendations have been implemented since that period, with more welfare initiatives ongoing.
Cross said the average New Zealander should still be appalled at the racing industry and he wants more scrutiny on all three racing codes.
‘‘Can you imagine if the film industry killed a dog a day providing its form of entertainment? And getting a big fat nontransparent taxpayer subsidy in the process? The public would be outraged.
‘‘What’s the difference if it’s racing?’’
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) chief executive Bernard Saundry said details regarding any horse that receives a catastrophic injury on race day was included in the stewards’ report for that meeting, which is a matter of public record on the NZTR website.
The same applies for harness and greyhound racing.
Saundry said despite significant and ongoing work being a priority, NZTR recognise there is always room for improvement in safety standards.
‘‘In a perfect world we would have zero race-day fatalities, but the current rate of 0.75 deaths per 1000 starts across the past eight seasons, places New Zealand as one of the safest racing jurisdictions in the world.
‘‘Last season with 17 deaths from the more than 27,000 raceday starts of our 4812 horses to race, the rate was 0.63 deaths per
‘‘Past studies indicate racing contributes $1.6 billion to the economy each year. There are 15,000 full-time racing industry jobs and nearly 60,000 jobs which participate in the industry in some shape.’’
Winston Peters, left
1000 starts,’’ Saundry said.
‘‘NZTR last year released its thoroughbred welfare guideline standards, which were produced in consultation with Professor Emeritus David Mellor of Massey University.’’
Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) said any injury or death of any racehorse is always unfortunate, and the health and animal welfare of standardbred horses was of utmost importance to everyone in harness racing.
Their fatality statistics, while racing, averaged out over the last five seasons at 0.13 per 1000 starts.
‘‘We recognise that now, more than ever, that all racing codes require a social licence to operate.
‘‘ Our commitment to animal welfare underpins this,’’ HRNZ said.
All three racing codes work with rehoming organisations and programmes to create pathways for racing animals once there career on the track is over.
HRNZ’s current key initiatives include creating improved traceability of standardbreds and a focus on life after racing.
‘‘Microchipping will be used as a means of horse identification from 1 August, 2020, which together with changes to our Harness Racing rules and regulations, will improve the traceability of our standardbreds from foaling to when they leave the industry,’’ HRNZ said.
Hughes said GRNZ works closely with its welfare committee, which is made up of a group of independent specialists, with veterinary and welfare experience.
She said GRNZ support independent research into the health and wellbeing of the greyhound population, and reiterated the independent Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) monitors compliance with all welfare policies and standards for all participants in greyhound racing, ensuring the highest standards are maintained.
‘‘We have programmes in place to ensure that all dogs are cared for from the time of their registration at birth, right through their racing career and into retirement,’’ Hughes said in a statement. We have our own kennels around the country where retired greyhounds go to for a full health check and assessment before being adopted out to the many families we have on our waiting lists.’’
The thoroughbred and harness codes have also been working together on an app that vets use to record all race day injuries, with the information being provided to Massey University to assist with their research.