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Below: an ABC 7.30 segment in which Minister Denis Napthine is questioned about his own and the Victorian State Government's reaction to the latest incidents in jumps racing.
Below: a video clip of a horse jumping into the crowd during the Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase in April, 2011. Included are comments by Ward Young of the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses. Below: a video clip from the anti-jumps racing group, horseracingkills.com. It shows a horse, injured during the running of the 2010 Warrnambool Carnival, being put down. WARNING: the video includes images of the injured horse. It also includes a series of short interviews, or vox pops, most with supporters of jumps racing. (Please note, some of the comments include crude language.). |
 Web links, documents |
On November 3, 2011, the Liberal/National Coalition, while still in opposition issued a press release indicating that, if elected, it could commit $2 million to the Warrnambool Jumps Racing Carnival.
The full text of this press release can be found at http://www.denisnapthine.com.au/page.php?id=271
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is Australia's oldest animal welfare and lobby group. It has a long-term opposition to jumps racing.
Its arguments on this issue can be found at http://www.rspcavic.org/campaigns_news/campaigns_jumps_racing.htm
Animals Australia is an animal rights group opposed to horse racing in general and jumps racing in particular. Its arguments in relation to this issue can be found at http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php#toc6 and http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php#toc6http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/jumps-racing-safe-for-no-one/
Victorian Advocates for Animals Inc. is a volunteer association that actively campaigns against cruelty to animals. It is another animal welfare group opposed to jumps racing. Its position on the issue can be found at http://www.vafa.org.au/Index.asp?pagename=CAMPAIGNS&site=1&siteid=1675
Racing Victoria has a Jumps Review Panel which will review all jumps races and trials in 2011 and comment on the performance of each horse.
The trial qualifications and race comments can be found at http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/jumpsracing/trialcomments.aspx
Though intended to ensure that only appropriate horses are put over the jumps, its utility is open to question. Shine the Armour, which died in a jumps race at Warrnambool on May 3, 2011, had previously been rated at 'Qualified Q11 Hurdles. Led. Jumped well.'
On May 4, 2010, The Punch published an opinion piece by Ben Asgari titled, 'Jumps racing knockers are misinformed'. The piece is a defence of jumps racing. It can be found at http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Punch-jumps-racing-knockers-are-misinformed/
On May 5, 2011, the South Australian Greens announced they would be introducing a motion into State parliament to refer jumps racing in South Australia to the state's Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC) following the events in Warrnambool.
The Greens media release can be found at http://tammy.sa.greens.org.au/mr.php?mr=932
On May 6, 2011, Radio National's PM included a report on Racing Victoria's decision to allow jumps racing to continue despite the injuries to spectators and a horse's death at the Warrnambool Carnival. The full text of this report, which includes interviews, can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3210134.htm
On May 6, 2011, the ABC's Lateline included a report on the spectator injuries that occurred during the Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase. The report includes comments from a range of stakeholders. The full text of the report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2011/s3210340.htm
On May 10, 2011, Mike Sharkie published an online comment titled, 'How do you defend a problem like jumps racing?'
Mike Sharkie is a leading Melbourne based form analyst and racing journalist. His comment, while acknowledging there are problems with jumps racing is a defence of the sport. Sharkie suggest a number of reforms and argues for a change in how the issue is generally debated.
The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.theshark.com.au/news/2011/05/10/how-do-you-defend-a-problem-like-jumps-racing-