Right: RSPCA president Hugh Wirth believes that Australian horses, unlike purpose-bred English "hunters", are not suited to jumps racing.Arguments against horse jump racing
1. Horse jumps racing is cruelOpponents of jumps racing claim it is inherently cruel. According to this line of argument, the requirements that horses run at speed, in close competition with other horses, over jumps, make the sport dangerous and likely to result in either injury or death for the horses concerned.
The president of the RSPCA in Victoria, Hugh Wirth, has stated, 'It's immoral to keep jumps racing going while the minister had ordered a speeding up of the annual review.' Dr Wirth added that Australian horses were too fast for jumps races, unlike 'hunter-type' horses used in Europe.
The president of the Victorian RSPCA, Dr Hugh Wirth, has stated, 'We are against submitting any animal to any activity where the level of risk to their health and wellbeing is unacceptably high ... We're not opposed to the use of horses, but just simply opposed to events that kill them.'
The president of Advocate For Animals, Laurence Pope, has called for Mr Hulls to ban the sport when the season ends on July 31. Mr Pope stated, 'It is an absolute disgrace on our culture and a disgrace for our state.'
Glenys Oogjes, the president of Animals Australia, has stated, 'Eight dead horses provide ample evidence that jumps racing presents an unacceptable risk and mustn't be allowed to continue. Jumps racing is 10 to 20 times more dangerous than flat racing. Horses will continue to fall and die until jumps racing is banned.'
It has also been argued that jumps racing is no real salvation for flat racing horses who would otherwise be put down when their flat racing careers were over. Critics claim that if these horses were put down it would at least be quick and painless. They also argue that any reprieve is only a postponement as the same horses, at the end of their careers in jumps racing, are then put down - many with injuries caused while jumps racing.
The Victorian Racing minister, Rob Hulls, also appears to have concerns about the safety of jumps racing. He has stated, 'Anyone who thinks that these types of incidents, these types of deaths and injuries are just a natural by-products of jumps racing really don't have much concern for either the safety of jockeys or horses.'
The Minister has stated, 'There have been far too many falls, far too many deaths, far too many injuries of jockeys. And it's now time to have a thorough review of jumps racing in this State.'
On June 30, 2008, Greg Hoy, a reporter for the ABC's 7.30 Report stated, 'In the last eight years, 70 horses have been put down and some fear the unofficial figures could be higher.' Such an ongoing history of animal deaths directly related to jumps racing events has convinced many of the sport's critics that it is simply unjustifiably cruel and dangerous.
2. There has been an increasing number of deaths associated with the industry
It has been claimed that despite attempted reforms and temporary downward trends in the number of injuries and horse death, jumps racing has remained dangerous. It has further been claimed that the most recent figures actually reveal an increase in harm to horses competing in jump races.
Glenys Oogjes, the Executive Director of Animals Australia, has stated, 'Jumps racing is 10 to 20 times more dangerous than flat racing. Previous reviews held in 2002 and 2005 and subsequent changes to the hurdles, have not worked. The 2008 season statistics show a higher rate of falls and deaths to those before the reviews commenced. Horses will continue to fall and die until jumps racing is banned"
Ms Oogles has further argued that, 'Eight dead horses [between March and June 25, 2008] provide ample evidence that jumps racing presents an unacceptable risk and mustn't be allowed to continue.'
Critics have further noted that by the start of July 2008 a further two jumps horses had been killed, taking the tally up to ten since March.
The Victorian Racing minister, Rob Hulls, 'If these types of incidents were happening on the same regularity in flat racing as they do in jumps racing it would mean that you would have one death per race meeting.'
Mr Hulls further stated, 'A lot of people said stick your nose out of it. It's got nothing to do with you. This is a tradition, and jumps racing is fantastic and it's part of our culture. Well that's just not good enough.
It has to be remembered that we're having something like 1.4 deaths per 100 starters in jumps racing.'
In the last 8 years, 70 horses have been put down and some fear the unofficial figures could be higher. Gelenys Oogles has stated, 'We understand that at least several horses die in the jumps racing trials each year. Racing Victoria have of recent times
said they can't provide us with those figures any more.'
3. The safety measures put in place appear to have had little effect
It has been claimed that, paradoxically, a number of measures intended to make jumps racing safer have backfired and increased the risks involved. Some critics have claimed that the jumps are too small.
The obstacles in jumps races in Victoria and South Australia have been made smaller and easier in the last few years in an effort to increase safety. However, some have claimed that the smaller jumps, which allow horses to brush through them, do not encourage a horse to jump. The horse soon learns he can brush through the hurdles and fences that look like big, upturned brooms. Before long, it has been claimed, horses have become lazy and think they barely need to lift their legs.
It has been argued that the irony appears to be that in attempting to make jumps racing safer, a whole new set of risks have been introduced.
This has led opponents of the industry to suggest that most reforms are unlikely to have any real impact as the sport is inherently unsafe. Thus, its critics maintain, you can fiddle around the edges but all that is likely to happen is that you transfer the immediate trigger for an accident from one risk factor to another.
4. Jumps racing is not economically important and can harm the image of the racing industry
Victoria and South Australia are the last states to host jumps racing after Tasmanian racing authorities banned the sport in 2007. Tasmania ceased the sport for economic reasons, not animal welfare reasons. There have been no jumps races in New South Wales since 1995.
Lawrence Pope, the Victorian Advocates for Animals president, has stated, 'I think the powers that run racing consider jumping a risk to their brand. Events like the spring carnival are hugely popular but the whole sport is tarnished when horses have to be put down in public.'
It has also been noted that jumps racing was far less profitable that flat racing. On the weekend of June 29, 2008, only $477,000 was wagered in winning and place bets in Victoria, ACT, WA and Tasmania on the Grand National Hurdle. But the flat races before and after, which like the National had 13 runners, produced revenue of $680,000 and $993,000 respectively.
Thus, it has been argued, though jumps racing may be important for certain communities and for some of those currently employed within it, it is far less significant when compared to the amount of revenue to be gleaned from the racing industry as a whole. Therefore, some claim, if this subsidiary of the whole racing industry is helping to bring that industry into disrepute, then perhaps it is time to end it.