A Senate committee has recommended the federal government establish a national horse traceability register following a heated national debate about the welfare of retired racehorses.
In a report tabled on Wednesday, the Senate rural and regional affairs and transport reference committee said the racing industry and broader horse industry, veterinary groups, animal welfare organisations and the farming lobby unanimously supported the proposal to create a central national database of all horses in Australia.
The racing industry repeatedly cited its support for a national traceability register in response to criticisms about the welfare of retired racehorses after the ABC released footage of racehorses being slaughtered in allegedly inhumane conditions.
If established, the committee said, abattoirs and knackeries would be required to update the register about horses going to slaughter, providing the first accurate data about the fate and welfare of retired racehorses.
It recommended the establishment of a working group to design the register and coordinate the secure collation of data from existing registers like those maintained by the racing industry.
The report said the register should be designed around a core biosecurity function, which would “compel the commonwealth’s participation” and protect against devastating disease outbreaks, like the 2007 equine influenza outbreak which cost the federal government more than $130m to contain.
It said a register would also improve horse welfare, rider safety, help the return of horses following a national disaster, and enable Australia to better meet its international horse meat obligations, which include a requirement that all horses slaughtered for export to Europe be accompanied by six months of veterinary records.
Similar registers exist in the United Kingdom and many European countries.
Currently, there is no data about the number of horses in Australia and no publicly available data on the number of horses killed at export abattoirs and knackeries. Neither registration requirements for domestic pets nor food safety and biosecurity registration requirements for agricultural animals apply to horses.
New South Wales Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi called for the committee to be established in November 2018, citing a Guardian Australia report about the fate of racehorses sold at Echuca saleyards. The committee was chaired by Labor senator Glenn Sterle.
“What stuck in my mind was a picture of a chestnut thoroughbred with a white patch on its forehead, sitting on the ground of the saleyard pen with ribs poking through its skin,” said Faruqi. “The caption read: ‘This 11-year-old thoroughbred last raced in 2014 and had total winnings of more than $100,000. He sells for $340.’”
Sitting in the public gallery of the Senate when the report was tabled were Julianna and Mark Waugh, whose daughter, Sarah, died in a fall from an off-the-track racehorse used in a jillaroo training program at Dubbo Tafe in 2009. They have been campaigning for a traceability register for 10 years, arguing that it could have saved Sarah’s life.
Faruqi said the level of support from industry stakeholders was “unprecedented”. Both Racing Australia and Australian Harness Racing and their state counterparts supported the proposal. Of more than 70 submissions received, just two, both from individuals, opposed the idea.
State and territory racing ministers resolved last week to write to federal agriculture minister Bridget Mckenzie to give their in-principle support for a national traceability register for all horses, not just ex-racing thoroughbreds.
The federal government is the only stakeholder not to pledge its support.
“The federal government’s response to this report will be a great opportunity for them to show some leadership, which has been sorely missing,” Faruqi said.
