Horse Racing Kills

Horse Racing Kills

Melbourne Cup Day. Leafleting outside Canberra Racecourse

For the past few years, Animal Liberation ACT has held a presence outside the Canberra Race Course on Melbourne Cup Day as part of the ‘Horse Racing Kills’ campaign.  We find it’s a good excuse to dress up in our Sunday best and at the same time bring attention to the plight of race horses.  This year (November 2007), we handed out over 2000 copies of Animal Liberation Victoria’s ‘Don’t be Fooled by the Glamour’ brochure which explains the hidden secrets of the horse racing industry.

Unfortunately whilst we were protesting that afternoon, silence fell over Flemington racecourse after an accident ended with Bay Story being put down on the main straight. The horse collided with Bling Bling about 140m from the finish line, sending both animals crashing through the barriers. Bling Bling lay motionless on the track, but Bay Story tragically staggered on towards the line with its crushed left hind leg sagging underneath.

Flemington Melbourne Cup Day November 2007

Stewards quickly erected sheets to block the crowd's view of the horses as officials rushed to the scene.  Many punters couldn't watch, while others wept as the drama unfolded.

For full details of the campaign, go to http://www.horseracingkills.org