Newspaper articles from 1927, nearly 100 years ago, highlight one of the key issues in jumps racing – transparency in reporting in injuries and fatalities, according to CEO of RSPCA Victoria, Dr Liz Walker.

An article titled ‘Steeplechasing Crashes’ from The Herald (Melbourne) in 1927, states that the RSPCA had compiled its own list of accidents from steeplechasing in a bid to have it banned.

“Unfortunately, we are still compiling our own lists of jumps racing accidents and injuries, nearly 100 years later, as they are still not centrally available to the public. Without this information, we are unable to gauge the true extent of the impact of jumps racing on the horses involved, but from the information we have it appears that despite significant efforts to improve the activity over the past decades, there are inherent animal welfare issues that cannot be mitigated,” said Dr Walker.

1927 ‘STEEPLECHASING CRASHES’, The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.: 1861 – 1954), 5 May, p. 1. , viewed 02 Sep 2024,
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243922525

RSPCA Victoria has renewed calls for a ban on horse jumps racing after this year’s season ended with multiple horses dead and jockeys hospitalised.

A review of historical articles has revealed that RSPCA has been trying to obtain a ban due to the human and animal welfare risks since at least 1927.

1927 ‘OVER THE FENCE?’, The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), 4 May, p. 23. (FINAL EXTRA), viewed 02 Sep 2024,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223620272

“Jumps racing is sometimes described by its proponents as a second chance for racehorses, but in reality, it’s a situation where horses who should be enjoying their well-earned retirement are facing a chance of injury up to four times higher than in regular flats racing based on a study of the 2022 and 2023 seasons,” said Dr Walker.

The Victorian Labor Party first pledged to ban jumps racing in 1976, however; the practice has been allowed to continue despite every other Australian state and territory ending the practice. Just over 30 years later, the government announced a ban would come into effect from 2010 onwards in Victoria. However, following intense industry lobbying and promises to improve the safety of the sport, the ban was lifted. Outlawed in South Australia in 2022, Victoria now remains the only place in Australia where jumps racing still occurs.

“Sadly, the fatality rate for horses competing in the 2024 jumps racing season is no better than it was fourteen years ago. Despite all attempts at improving safety, the industry has not able to provide a consistently safer form of jumps racing.

“RSPCA Victoria is calling on the Victorian Government to bring Victoria into line with other Australian states and overseas jurisdictions and put an end to jumps racing.”

For more information about RSPCA Victoria’s advocacy work visit: https://rspcavic.org/what-we-do/advocacy/