Equine Welfare Australia
FACTS AND FICTION
A balanced view
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Wastage
The definition of Wastage according to the RSPCA is "Wastage refers to the number of horses that are ‘lost’ from the racing industry. Wastage can occur at any stage of the horse’s life, including prior to racing."
According to the RSPCA,
"Of the 39% of Thoroughbreds which left a racing stable, 6% were reported to have been sent to a knackery while 17% of Standardbred horses were reported to have been sent to the same destination." - Source RSPCA
18,000 HORSES ARE KILLED EVERY YEAR - Source Australian Racing Industry 2010
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) claim on their website that "18,000 Racehorses are killed every year". The page references the Australian Racing Industry Fact Book 2010, table 21 (below). The table shows that for the year 2010/2011, there were 15,893 foals born.
If then there were 15,893 horses born in 2010 and we assume 6% were sent to the knackery (as per RSPCA document for wastage here), that means 954 horses were for one reason or another (which we don't know) were put down. Reasons would include sickness, and accidents. A horse may be put down if an appropriate quality of life is not guaranteed. One could assume therefore, that less than 6% of racehorses and less than 17% of standardbreds are put down for reasons other than for illness, accidents and because a good quality of life couldn't be guaranteed.
We have the number of foals born each year. We have the definition of 'wastage', and we have according to the RSPCA how many horses are put down each year but we don't know the reason why they are put down. For certain some are put down for health issues. Therefore, for certain the number of racehorses put down is less than 6%. Looking at the facts, then, racehorses put down (using 2010 as an assumption) would mean in that in 2010, 954 horses were put down and not 18,000 as claimed by CPR.
This is what the CPR claim on their website (10 November 2014)
WASTAGE FAQS
8. Where does the 18,000 horses slaughtered each year figure come from?
Most statistics mentioned on this website are taken directly from the Australian Racing Fact Book. The racing industry breeds on average 18,000 horses every single year (although there has been slight decline to 15,000 horses in the past couple of years).
There are only ever 31,000 racehorses participating in the industry in any one year, therefore if 18,000 new horses are being bred for the industry every year, the same number must also be leaving this year. A common argument by the racing industry is that these horses go into breeding, however there are a few important factors to note:
- Most racehorses are geldings, and therefore of no use to the breeding industry
- The number of horses involved in breeding (both mares and stallions) has been in decline by 10-15% over
the past five years. Consequently, for every new horse that enters the breeding industry, at least one horse must also leave.
As the racing industry breeds without consequence, many horses are simply treated as economic commodities and like any bad investment, are discarded of when no longer profitable. The throwaway culture within the racing industry encourages people to send their horses to slaughter, as it is often an issue of convenience not compassion.
There is no retirement plan for all racehorses as it currently stands, and that is something CPR hopes to change through our ‘1% to stop the slaughter’ campaign: http://www.horseracingkills.com/features/1-percent-to-stop-the-slaughter/
- See more at: http://www.horseracingkills.com/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/#sthash.O6dFuAF5.dpuf
View Screen Shots, 10 November 2014.