RSPCA Tasmania Pack News
OCTOBER 2021

          Carlos is living his best life!

After a nasty road accident, two surgeries on his badly broken leg and a stint in foster care, Carlos is safe and loved at his furever home. 

Impact through community action

We want to thank you all- every one of you who responded to our petitions and contacted the minister.

Those who shared our posts on pronged collars and added your voices to the call to strengthen animal welfare legislation, giving greater powers to RSPCA Inspectors.

In a statement to the people of Tasmania, Minister Barnett said,

"Having received expert advice from the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC), the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment and in consultation with the RSPCA (Tasmania), this Government will be introducing a Bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act, to further strengthen enforcement and support the prosecution of animal welfare breaches.

Through these proposed amendments, we are toughening the existing laws and providing Authorised Officers, including RSPCA representatives, with powers of emergency entry and the power to take possession of animals – where Authorised Officers reasonably believe the animal to be at imminent risk.

We will also move to restrict the use of pronged collars within Tasmania.

The Government will work closely with the RSPCA and key stakeholders to draft proposed amendments and undertake community consultation before tabling the Bill in early 2022."

We have proven that together, we can change the lives of animals and the lives of those who care about them.

Review into Racing Regulations

Letter to the Minister from our CEO, Ms Jan Davis 

I write to you regarding your proposed review of the Racing Regulation Act 2004 and what this review will encompass. This review provides for an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the role of animal welfare in the racing industry, to align it more with public expectation – and to position Tasmania as the leading state in Australia in the protection of racing animals.

RSPCA’s core purpose is to protect animals and advocate for better animal welfare laws. Presently, in the community, more and more people are awakening to the concept that animals are sentient beings and react to external stimuli – both physical and emotional.

Our world is changing – and community attitudes to acceptable behaviours are also changing. Activities involving human-animal relationships, especially when animals are used for entertainment, will have to move with these changes. Although we are seeing this happen in some states across Australia, many states, including our own, are lacking in transparency and foresight to look after these animals, especially once their racing career has ended.

We therefore welcomed your recent announcement of a review of the Racing Regulation Act 2004.

This Act has not been substantially reviewed since its inception.Probity and integrity are critically important in the racing industry and underpin confidence in racing across all three codes in the state – thoroughbred, harness and greyhounds. Public trust in these functions is key.

For many years, RSPCA Tas has held serious concerns about the extensive animal welfare problems associated with both horse and greyhound racing, including the lack of transparency in the industries, the lack of independent animal welfare oversight, and the amount of public money being invested into the industries.

Over recent years, there has been a significant amount of time and money spent in jurisdictions across Australia on strengthening and improving legislative requirements of both equine and canine racing to improve the welfare of animals, both during and after their racing careers. Currently there is no perfect model but elements from several different jurisdictions, if combined, would be a start.

A lot of good and in-depth work has been done, and it makes no sense to reinvent those wheels.

Many serious animal welfare issues are associated with both equine and canine racing, and these require urgent corrective action. These issues include significant overbreeding, high euthanasia rates, low rehoming rates, excessive number of injuries suffered during training and racing, poor housing conditions and a lack of socialisation and environmental enrichment.

“The use of whips in horse racing is arguably the most visible form of violence to animals,” according to Dr Paul McGreevey, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science at the University of Sydney.

Yet Racing Australia rules currently allow a horse to be whipped five times prior to the final stage of a race, and then an unlimited number of times during the last 100 metres.

Whips have the potential to cause localised trauma and tissue damage to horses. What’s more, the last 100 metres of a race – when horses can be whipped an unlimited number of times – is exactly the time when horses are more fatigued and have less capacity to respond.

Whips have long been defended by the racing industry as a way to make racing fairer and safer. But we now know that this is not true.

A new world-first study undertaken by the University of Sydney shows that whipping horses does not improve their chances of winning races. The peer-reviewed research compared 126 “whipping-permitted” and “whipping-free” races in the UK and found no difference in movement on course, interference on course, incidents related to jockey behaviour, or race finishing times.

“The racing industry has long argued that whips are necessary as a safety aid, because they can help a jockey with steering. There is also a belief – both in the racing community and among punters – that they make horses run faster. But, until now, no one’s actually tested these things,” said Jan Davis, RSPCA Tasmania CEO.

“This research provides conclusive evidence to show there is no reason for jockeys to use whips on horses – and the RSPCA is calling for a phase-out of whips in racing,” she said.

Some within the racing industry have also recognised that whipping horses is no longer acceptable.

In a recent public statement, Racing Victoria said “the current national whip rules are no longer appropriate and not in the best interests of … Australian racing, both now and in the long-term”. It said racing in Australia was lagging behind international standards and risked alienating its audience.

It is calling for whips to be phased out and is seeking the national introduction of new rules that would limit the number of times a rider was allowed to whip their horse per race. This proposed reform would bring Australia into line with the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and parts of the United States.

It is time for action. The use of whips in Australian horse racing has been proven by scientists to be not only ineffectual — but cruel. The RSPCA is therefore calling for the racing industry in Tasmania to support the phasing out of whips in horse racing.

Do you agree- write a letter to the editor and help spread the word.

Spring is here and with it comes Laminitis (founder) 

Laminitis (also termed founder) is inflammation of the laminae of the foot – the soft tissue structures that attach the coffin or pedal bone of the foot to the hoof wall. The inflammation and damage to the laminae causes extreme pain and leads to instability of the coffin bone in the hoof. In more severe cases it can lead to complete separation of and rotation of the pedal bone within the hoof wall.

Laminitis is a crippling condition which can be fatal in severe cases. Once a horse has had an episode of laminitis, they are particularly susceptible to future episodes. Laminitis can be managed but not cured which is why prevention is so important.

Read more on RSPCA Australia's Knowledge Base.

            Malakai

On Wednesday, October 6th, the Deputy Chief Magistrate convicted a person on five counts of animal cruelty, after a complaint to the Animal Cruelty Hotline in June 2019, regarding a dog in poor condition.

That dog was Malakai.

The RSPCA Inspector observed the dog was tethered and appeared to be in very thin body condition, with open sores noted on legs and tail.

The Inspector seized the dog and left a seizure notice at the premises.

The Inspector transported Malaki to Kingston Animal Hospital where he was examined by a veterinarian and then transported to the RSPCA facility at Spreyton.

Sheffield Veterinary Clinic subsequently produced a report saying that the dog was emaciated, had traumatic wounds, an unretracted penis, skin injuries and an ulcerated tail.

The tail segment was subsequently amputated and surgery was done to correct the penile condition.

His body condition score was 2.5 out of 5 and his weight was 24.9kg.

The vet observed that in her professional opinion, Malaki’s malnourished state and skin / tail injuries would have been blatantly obvious to his carer(s) and also noted that Malaki’s carer should have sought help and advice if unsure of appropriate canine care and feeding.

She said Malaki’s suffering could have been preventable through an adequate feeding regime, wound management and prevention.

On October 6th, in the Hobart Magistrates court, the person was convicted and fined $2500. He has been ordered to complete 84 hours of community service and had been disqualified from owning a dog for a period of 5 years.

Malakai has subsequently been adopted and is safe.

Your calls to the Animal cruelty Hotline can result in the alleviation of suffering.

If you are concerned about the treatment of an animal call the RSPCA Animal Cruelty Hotline on 1300 139 947