Australia’s racing industry continues to avoid addressing the root cause of mass horse slaughter — and in doing so, condemns more horses to death.
In the lead up to the 2021 horse racing season, the Australian racing industry is hopeful that we have forgotten – forgotten the death of Anthony Van Dyck who broke down mid-race at the 2020 Melbourne Cup, and forgotten the explosive evidence of mass horse slaughter and cruelty – but we have not.
Following the exposé, the industry responded with feigned shock and horror that its ‘beloved’ horses were ending up at notorious slaughterhouses – not only was it revealed that the industry knew about the killings, but also that horses were being sold directly to kill buyers by horse racing trainers.
In an attempt to appease the outraged public, and undoubtedly nervous sponsors in the lead-up to its biggest event of the year, Australian horse racing reps made a couple of announcements — no doubt hoping they sound just good enough that people will forget the images of terrified horses being kicked, sworn at, and thrashing desperately in bloody kill boxes that aired on ABC’s 7.30.