Racing Australia will begin enforcing its new traceability rules on May 1. Created in an effort to ensure Thoroughbred health and welfare by tracing racehorses throughout their lives, officials hope the rules will result in positive equine welfare outcomes.
The new rules will require regular and detailed reporting of a horse's status and movements, providing transparency about where Australian Thoroughbreds are and what they are doing. The rules apply to breeding horses, unnamed horses not registered to race, named and registered racehorses and retired racehorses. Racing Australia must be made aware of a horse's change of ownership, location change, retirement from breeding or racing, and a status update must be provided if the horse hasn't raced for six months. Death of a horse is also reportable. Each of these events must be reported to Racing Australia within a specific timeframe.
The new regulations also allow for stewards to enter a property to assess a horse's health and welfare; stewards are permitted to bring along anyone necessary to assist in the examinations. Anyone found to be in violation of these new rules is subject to restrictions of their ability to race or breed, and the withholding of earnings.
Though current reporting obligations end when a horse is retired from racing, sending a horse directly to slaughter or sending it to a sale where it might be sold to slaughter is prohibited. A potential joint effort between the racing industry and the government has been proposed to ensure retired racehorses stay safe throughout their lifetime, even after they leave the jurisdiction of Racing Australia.
Read more at TDN Australia.
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