RSPCA Victoria has released an audit of the publicly available jumps racing data, finding serious animal welfare concerns, inconsistent data, and a lack of transparency.

RSPCA Victoria Policy and Advocacy Manager, Mhairi Roberts, said the report painted a very concerning picture of jumps racing.

“In defending its safety record, the public has been asked by jumps racing supporters to look beyond the last season and instead consider the long-term jumps racing data,” Ms Roberts said.

“What we found, however, was a systematic failure in animal welfare, significant gaps in data, poorly reported information, inconsistencies, and a lack of accountability and independent auditing.

“Our report found one in every 24 horses died in a jumps race this season, and one in every 10 horse starts resulted in an injury.

“Also concerning are the gaps where no data is publicly available at all – including 2010, 2011, 2020, and 2021.

“Considering the industry has been attempting to improve animal safety in jumps racing for the last 20 years, the comprehensive and accurate collection of data is essential to track improvements – yet all we have found is a disparity of publicly available and verified data over this period.

“It’s clear, even from the patchy data available, jumps racing is incredibly unsafe for horses, and that safety improvements appear to have had little to no tangible impact on horse welfare.

“Given these insurmountable animal welfare concerns, RSPCA Victoria is calling for jumps racing to be banned.”

With Racing Victoria recently announcing a review into the jumps racing season, RSPCA Victoria advocated for the review to have independent oversight.

“We are pleased this ask was successful, with the review now including an independent reviewer and a chance for the Racing Integrity Commissioner to provide recommendations,” Ms Roberts said.

Key issues identified:

• 2024 was one of the highest years of jumps horse fatalities on record.
  • In the 2024 season alone, 1 in every 24 horses died during a jumps race and 1 in every 10 horse starts in a jumps race resulted in an injury.
  • Based on available data, the horse fall rate in jumps racing has not improved in the last twenty years
  • Over the last 34 years a long-term reduction in fatality rates has not been consistently achieved with peaks every few years.
• Only 35% of complete Jumps Review Panel racing reports are publicly available from Racing Victoria since safety interventions began 14 years ago, however these reports:
  • require time-consuming manual tabulation by external parties to paint a complete picture of jumps racing,
  • contain tracked changes and some missing information indicating they may not have been finalised or adequately reviewed prior to being made publicly available, and
  • are not independently audited for accuracy
• No information on the financial or participatory status of jumps racing is available from the last 14 years:
  • Financial information for jumps racing is reported within the total figures for horse racing, rather than separated out by racing type.
  • This muddying of information also occurs for participatory data e.g. jumps racing dependent jobs are not reported separately to other racing industry jobs.
  • The 2009 Racing Victoria review is the most recent information available, which noted all key financial and participatory statistics for jumps racing were in decline, with “many in significant decline”.

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

RSPCA Victoria’s annual ‘Give to Get Them Home’ fundraiser is on again this Thursday, 3 October.

For one day only, animal lovers across the state can double their impact with every dollar matched by generous sponsors.

Funds raised will go towards rescuing animals from cruelty and neglect, providing life-saving veterinary treatment and all the care they need before helping them find their forever home.

RSPCA Victoria’s Chief Veterinarian, Dr Bronwyn Oke, said the organisation wasn’t immune to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

“The cost of caring for the thousands of animals coming through our doors is getting higher every year,” Dr Oke said.

“Unfortunately, these rising costs have a big impact on our ability to provide some of the states most vulnerable animals with the shelter, care, and support they need.

“Every one of the more than 8,500 animals that arrived at RSPCA Victoria last financial year, required some level of veterinary care ranging from standard health checks to x-rays to surgery.

“Animals will sometimes come to us with severe medical issues requiring ongoing care, this can mean months of intensive care and support to get them healthy again.

“Other animals come in needing complex surgery, or multiple surgeries, which is only possible thanks to these generous donations.”

RSPCA Victoria spends on average nearly $60 per day, per animal in its care, with the cost of vital resources like medicines and vaccines putting pressure on RSPCA.

“In addition to the cost of some medicines increasing, the cost of essential fluids required for surgery has also increased significantly in the last 12 months,” Dr Oke said.

“This one day is an incredible opportunity for everyone who cares about animals to make a significant difference and have their donation go further than ever before.

“With your help, we are able to provide vital care, shelter, and medical treatment to the animals in need across Victoria and help prevent cruelty to animals.”

In 2023 over $900,000 was raised, with RSPCA Victoria hoping to exceed that amount this year thanks to the support of corporate sponsors and the Victorian community.

These funds provide animals at RSPCA with vital care including food and water, shelter, vaccinations, and medical treatment, as well as funding the work that goes into finding their new home.

All donations on Thursday, 3 October will be doubled thanks to donation matching sponsors. To donate, visit rspcavic.org and make your donation count.

2024 Matching sponsors include: Royal Canin, Peter Alexander, Bravecto.

RSPCA Victoria is launching a 48-hour “Clear the Shelter” adoption blitz on 21 and 22 of September in hopes of emptying its Burwood and Peninsula shelters during the upcoming school holidays.

RSPCA’s Head of Operations, Tanya Drakopoulos, said adoption fees for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies will be reduced to $50 each to help animals find loving homes sooner rather than later.

“We have some beautiful animals in our shelter who are ready and waiting for their new fur-ever home,” Ms Drakopoulos said.

“We know that pets make our lives better, so if you’ve been thinking about welcoming a new pet into your life, consider this a sign!

“Every animal adopted through RSPCA is desexed, vaccinated, microchipped, and health and behaviour checked, which would normally cost hundreds of dollars.”

Adoption fees will be reduced to encourage everyone to come and find their pawfect match:

• $50 for all puppies and adult dogs
• $50 for all kittens and cats
• Rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, rats and mice are free
• All senior animals are free to adopt

“Our adoption process is designed to match the right pet to you and your family,” Ms Drakopoulos said.

“The school holidays are a great time to settle a new pet into the home because it allows you to spend a bit more time together and get to know each other’s character.

“We provide our animals with the best possible care but, at the end of the day, they belong in loving homes, and we hope everyone can help us clear the shelter by adopting their new best friend or sharing the news with someone who’s looking for a furry friend.”

Animals cannot be held for interested parties during this time, so anyone interested in adopting must act quickly to make sure they don’t miss out on their ‘pawfect’ match this year!

Visit rspcavic.org/adopt-a-pet or head to an RSPCA shelter to meet the animals currently up for adoption.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September, 10am to 4pm, no appointments required, and walk-ins are welcome:

RSPCA Burwood – 3 Burwood Highway Burwood East

RSPCA Peninsula – 1030 Robinsons Road Pearcedale

Today RSPCA Victoria has advised volunteers at the Portland op shop it has made the difficult decision to close the store after more than 20 years of operation, with Wednesday 9 October 2024 to be the last day of trade.

Acting Head of Commercial Enterprises Stephanie Neil explained the change.

“RSPCA Victoria, along with so many across the state, are feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis,” Ms Neil said.

“As a result of this, combined with continually increasing costs and reducing margins, it’s no longer financially viable for us to continue to operate the op shop in Portland.

“We understand this news may be disappointing to our wonderful volunteers and those in the community who have supported us.

“However, as a not-for-profit organisation we have a responsibility to ensure everything we do is financially sustainable and is ultimately in the best interests of our core mission – ending cruelty to animals.

“This has been a difficult decision, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every one of our generous volunteers both past and present for their hard work over the years, and those in the community who have supported the shop and our work.

“While we will no longer have a bricks and mortar presence in Portland, our Community Outreach and Education teams will have services available, and our Inspectors will continue to investigate reports of animal cruelty in the area.”

The store will hold a final two-day sale from Tuesday 8 – Wednesday 9 October where locals can fill a bag for just $5.

In an effort to reduce waste, local community groups, charities and other organisations are asked to get in touch if they are interested in repurposing any of the shop fixtures of fittings – contact opshopsupport@rspcavic.org.au.

There are many ways for the local community to continue to support RSPCA Victoria’s work to end cruelty to animals, including community fundraising and reporting animal cruelty.