The ruling body of British horse racing has once more found itself defending its whip rules following criticism from Australia of the 2011 report that provided the basis for the present rules. The whip has been a hot topic in Australia this week, with one academic claiming horses are more likely to feel pain than has been realised, while an increasing number of British politicians are showing interest in the subject.
The British Horseracing Authority claims it has put in place whip rules that safeguard animal welfare and ensure the sport’s continued good standing in the eyes of the public but its 2011 report on the subject has now been attacked in a study for the quarterly journal Animals. After finding a series of faults with the BHA’s work, the study condemns the authority for concluding “that whip use is not painful, that whip use is not a welfare problem and that whip use is necessary for safety and encouragement, without adequate evidence to support these claims”.
The study asserts that the BHA cannot be regarded as truly independent on the subject of the whip, since it exists to promote racing as well as regulate it, and goes on to accuse the authority of bad faith in its original recommendations, which were twice modified within five months of being introduced. “The question arises whether the report’s conclusions were genuinely intended to be implemented,” says the Animals study.
“The use of the whip as now permitted by the BHA no longer even reflects the objectives of its review.” The study concludes by calling for an independent scientific body to make an objective evaluation of the evidence relating to whip use and its impact on horse welfare.
The BHA’s Jamie Stier, director of raceday regulation, responded by claiming that the whip rules introduced in Britain after the 2011 report were more stringent than those applied in any other major racing nation and have resulted in a 40% reduction in whip offences. “Our whip rules are designed to prevent the possibility of a horse’s welfare being compromised,” he added.
BHA insiders also noted that three of the four authors of the Animals study have links with the Australian RSPCA, which calls for an end to the use of the whip in racing, in contrast to the more moderate approach adopted by the British RSPCA. But the fourth author is James Yeates, chief vet of the British RSPCA, suggesting that the BHA has some bridge-building to do with Britain’s best-known animal welfare organisation.
Use of the whip in racing was examined by the American documentary series Catalyst this week, in which it was claimed that horses may be more sensitive to pain than humans. The programme included a contribution from Dr Lydia Tong, described as a forensic veterinary pathologist, who said: “The really interesting part is that right up in the epidermis, which is the top layer [of skin], and that’s where the pain-sensing C fibres are. In the human specimen, that’s thicker than the horse’s. So by the old argument of horses’ skin is thicker and they feel it less, actually, you could argue human skin is thicker.”
Tong was quoted elsewhere as adding: “The skin of the body – where we whip horses – may have even more sensation than ours. Are we using pain to make horses run faster? So far, it certainly looks like it.”
Tong is a staff member of the faculty of veterinary science at the university of Sydney, where she is a colleague of Professor Paul McGreevy, one of the authors of the Animals study that criticised the BHA and another contributor to the Catalyst programme this week.
While this research has been pursued and published on the other side of the world, it is likely to become part of whip-related discussion in Britain. Animal Aid, the animal rights organisation that has long attacked racing in Britain on a number of fronts, said it was now “closer to our goal” of a ban on the use of the whip in racing and issued a press release quoting from the Australian research at length.
It appears that British politicians are prepared to show interest in the subject as an election approaches. Sixty-six MPs have now signed an early-day motion tabled by the Liberal Democrat Adrian Sanders, calling on the government to force a ban on the whip being used to make horses go faster. The motion recognises that whips may still have to be carried for the purpose only of ensuring safety during a race.
While the BHA would not offer public comment on the motion, it appears that its staff believe the motion was inspired by literature from Animal Aid. The BHA is seeking to counter this by writing to the MPs who have signed the motion, as well as some others, putting its own case.
