Cameras will be installed at Queensland abattoirs to capture how retired racehorses are treated in the wake of an animal cruelty probe. The new rule is among dozens of recommendations about how the state government and racing industry can better take care of Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds once their careers are over. Animal welfare groups estimate[...]

WHEN A RACEHORSE LEAVES THE TRACK Some Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds become stock used to breed potential future winners A small number of horses will be rehomed and become pets or hacks for pony club, while others become showjumpers or dressage horses Others are sent to slaughter to become human or pet food In 2019 footage[...]

A report after an inquiry equine welfare in Queensland could be released as early as this week. Former District Court Judge Terry Martin chaired the inquiry which was instigated by the state government after a story by the ABC's 7.30 Report in October. The story highlighted the issue of managing the retirement of racehorses and[...]

Former Victorian premier Dr Denis Napthine will head an independent working group of industry groups to develop a national horse welfare strategy. Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, the Australian Trainers' Association, the Australian Jockeys' Association, race clubs, studs and big-name owners and trainers are behind the initiative to review the current welfare landscape in Australia. The working[...]

Racehorses in Western Australia will get a “passport” to track their condition and whereabouts when they retire under proposed animal welfare reforms sparked by revelations of cruelty at a Queensland abattoir. After ABC vision showed workers at the Meramist Abattoir in Caboolture tormenting horses before they were killed, WA Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia[...]

Animal activists are expected to make themselves known outside the racecourse where thousands of people will watch the Melbourne Cup unfold in the flesh. The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has planned a protest outside Flemington racecourse on Tuesday amid the bustle of the “race that stops the nation”. Two new drones will be[...]

Australia's agriculture ministers will urgently discuss the welfare of retired racehorses after a scandal surrounding the animals being mistreated before being slaughtered. Federal Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said the issue would be a top priority at Friday's meeting with her counterparts in Melbourne. “It's really important that we have a discussion as the country's agriculture[...]

Biosecurity officers have inspected a Queensland abattoir at the centre of a racehorse cruelty scandal but no charges have been laid so far. Officers examined the Meramist Abattoir at Caboolture on Friday after the ABC 7.30 program aired distressing footage of some staff beating, shocking, and screaming abuse at former racehorses before they were slaughtered.[...]

The care and wellbeing of racehorses does not stop when they leave stables after their racing careers are over with leading trainers saying they do everything to ensure they have forever homes. Although in NSW trainers are required to notify where the horses go on retirement, cracks in the system show it is when horses[...]