On Melbourne Cup Day, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Animal Welfare, is calling for horse racing to be shut down, and for dirty political donations from gambling companies to be banned once and for all.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses published its annual Deathwatch report in October and found that 2024-2025 was the deadliest season for racehorses on record. On average, at least one horse died every 2 days.
The racing industry is doing everything it can to escape scrutiny. Public records obscure the number of horses who die or are euthanised during racing, and horses that break down or are injured mid-race are swiftly erased from public footage, with no transparency over when or how footage has been edited. Last racing season, the industry didn't release wagering data for the first time in decades. It is only through the hard work of dedicated activists that we know the full extent of the barbarism these horses are subject to.
As stated by Greens Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, Senator Mehreen Faruqi:
"Things keep going from bad to worse for horses in the racing industry yet the media, politicians and their mates in toxic gambling companies continue to pretend everything is okay. This is a stain on our nation.
"Horse racing is not a sport, it is legalised cruelty for profit. The industry not only sacrifices horses, it goes to great lengths to hide its cruel and disgusting underbelly.
"Today, federal parliamentarians will be toasting to this cruelty, lunching in the Speaker's Courtyard while more and more horses suffer horrific deaths to feed the gambling industry's profits.
"It is time to stop treating animals as disposable commodities. Both the Liberals and Labor receive political donations from gambling companies, who profit off losses that are ripped from vulnerable communities. The Melbourne Cup spectacle comes at a deadly cost to both animals and communities.
"Let us end this carnival of cruelty, rehabilitate and rehome the horses, and stop the corrosive influence of gambling donations on our politics by banning them outright."
