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2009/18: Australian horse-racing: are the new regulations restricting the use of whips appropriate
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: an ABC news report (September 14) announcing a temporary truce in the conflict over the new whip regulations.
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What they said...
'The whip is a stimulant that prompts a reaction from a horse because it hurts. That is undeniable. There's no pretty way to say it; horses are whipped for our entertainment'
Patrick Smith, a journalist for The Australian
'The whip does not inflict pain, simple as that'
John van Veenendaal, senior veterinarian at the Flemington Equine Clinic
The issue at a glance
From August 1, 2009, a new set of restrictions were imposed on all jockeys in Australia, limiting the manner in which they could use the whip on their mounts during a race. The Australian Jockeys Association claimed these regulations were unworkable and unsafe and threatened to conduct a series of strikes.
The regulations had been developed and will be enforced by the Australian Racing Board (ARB). In response to the jockeys' protests the ARB modified the new regulations, giving jockeys greater freedom to use the whip in the last hundred metres of a race.
The modifications have partially mollified the jockeys, while the more rigorous regulations have pleased animal welfare groups; however, the compromise has completely satisfied neither set of interest groups.
The new regulations will be reviewed on February 1, 2010. It is probable that various groups within the racing industry as well as various animal welfare groups will challenge the new regulations, each from a very different perspective.
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