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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-11-26 Daily Xml
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National Horse Register

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:53): I seek leave to address a question to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, representing the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, on the topic of horse traceability registers.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Tens of thousands of racehorses are bred in Australia every year by the thoroughbred and standardbred racing industries. Many are abandoned in paddocks or dumped at saleyards, and the ABC has now revealed that thousands eventually end up in knackeries and slaughterhouses. It is clear the racing industry has abandoned these horses once they are no longer profitable. Sickeningly, they call this 'wastage'.

This is allowed to happen because the racing industry is not required to take responsibility for the thousands of horses that leave the industry each year. That is why we need a national horse register, and that is why there has been occasion in the UK, Europe and Canada to establish horse registers. I note this is the topic of an upcoming ministers meeting of, I believe, the agricultural portfolio, and is also the subject of a current Senate inquiry.

My question to the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing, through the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in this place, is: will the Marshall government support the establishment of a national horse traceability register with the requisite state involvement required to facilitate that and force the racing industry to give every horse a dignified retirement, safe from abuse or slaughter?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am happy to refer it to the minister in the other place and bring back an answer for her.

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