Oz whip ban may hurt NZ industry
One of New Zealand’s most decorated reinsman says Harness Racing Australia’s shock move to ban the use of whips will have a detrimental effect on both sides of the Tasman.
In a world-first move, Harness Racing Australia (HRA) will outlaw whips in racing and training from September 1 next year.
The announcement was made at a press conference in Perth on Saturday and champion Kiwi reinsman Anthony Butt said the decision has been meet with a huge backlash from horseman in Australia.
It was publicly supported by leading Australian driver Chris Alford, who said he supported moves to ensure high standards of animal welfare aligned with community expectations.
But fellow Victorian driver Greg Sugars tweeted that it was a disaster. ‘‘Sounds like a nail in the harness racing coffin,’’ he said.
Up until Saturday’s announcement, Butt felt HRA had done a great job on tightening restrictions and he felt further steps could have been taken rather than a complete ban.
‘‘People forget that we are all lovers of horses. The last thing any of us want is to see horses get abused. We spend our lives, seven days a week, catering to their needs and running around making sure they have everything they need.’’
Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) chief executive Edward Rennell was in Perth for the announcement but said there were no immediate plans to ban whips on this side of the Tasman.
‘‘We have recently made changes to our whip policies pertaining to how often they can be used so we will see how they go and continue to monitor the situation both at home and in Australia,’’ he said.
Hundreds of Kiwi horses are exported to Australia every year but Butt, now based in Victoria, said it would be no surprise to see those numbers drop. ‘‘How is an Ozzie owner going to buy a horse from New Zealand when they don’t know if it can go without the whip or not?’’
That uncertainty could hurt on both sides of the Tasman.
‘‘New Zealand needs the export market to survive and in Australia we need the horses, so we’re reliant on each other,’’ Butt said.
Butt said the rule change make it much more complicated for a Kiwi trainer to campaign a horse in Australia because they were used to whip at home.
‘‘A Kiwi trainer is going to have to think long and hard about bringing horses over here when they are used to the whip. Some of our (NZ) very best horses would really struggle if the whip cannot be used as a reminder,’’ he said.
Many horseman in Victoria were concerned the decision was coming from administrators who had little practical experience with horses, Butt said.
He had spoken to all the leading drivers in Victoria and none of them had been spoken to before the decision.
‘‘It’s a real shame as there are so many trainers and drivers with so much experience that could have offered so much but they haven’t been consulted.
‘‘I would say 99 per cent of drivers acknowledge that we need to continue to cut down on whip use, especially in the straight, and everyone that I’ve spoken to was keen to work together on solutions but unfortunately they haven’t had the chance.’’
Butt said some of the great drivers such as Gavin Lang, Greg Sugars, Dexter Dunn, Tony Herlihy and David Butcher hardly used the whip so with the right education he was confident all drivers could cut back further.
Butt believes there was misconception that persuader were only used to make a horse run faster but they were also used to control a horse and not having one many be a safety issue.
‘‘They are unpredictable animals.
‘‘They are not like a motorbike or a car where you can use the controls to move them to where you want to go."
‘‘HRA are set to introduce a ‘‘guiding tool’’ to replace the whip for safety reasons but it will not be used to encourage the horse to run faster.’’