A panel looking into thoroughbred welfare headed by former Victorian Premier Dr Denis Napthine has been “very pleased” by the number of suggestions it has received.
More than 160 submissions have been made to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group (TAWWG) by prominent trainers, owners, breeders, race clubs as well as welfare groups, veterinarians, equine re-trainers, researchers and the general public. Racing Australia and each of the principal racing authorities have also made submissions.
“The working group has been very impressed and pleased with the standard and the sheer number of submissions that have been lodged,” said Dr Napthine. “It is clear that there is a real appetite from both within and outside the thoroughbred industry to look at how welfare can be improved.”
The TAWWG was established in February this year by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, the Australian Trainers’ Association, the Australian Jockeys’ Association, and with the support of other leading industry stakeholders.
In early June the TAWWG released an Issues Paper canvassing key horse welfare topics and publicly called for submissions from anybody who had an opinion on improving the wellbeing of thoroughbred horses, especially those exiting the racing and breeding industry.
Dr Napthine added: “I can assure everyone who made a submission that they are all being read by the panel and will be given consideration as we go through our work.
“There have been lots of suggestions, ideas and insights in the more than thousand pages of documents we have received. I’ve been particularly pleased with the range of viewpoints that have been put forward and many different voices heard.
“We are now engaged in meetings with some of those who wrote to us, and with other key local and international stakeholders and experts, to further explore the many issues, ideas, suggestions and considerations as we begin to shape our report and its recommendations."
The TAWWG has so far held more than 20 consultative meetings and has scheduled many more in September and October.
It is expected the group will publish their final report and recommendations in late spring of this year.
The four person panel is made up of Dr Napthine, who also served as Victoria’s racing minister and is a qualified veterinarian; Dr Ken Jacobs, a former director of the Australian Veterinary Association; Dr Bidda Jones, Chief Science and Strategy Officer for RSPCA Australia; and Jack Lake, a senior agriculture advisor on policy in the governments of Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and Kevn Rudd.
