Urge the Australian Racing Board to ban the use of whips on horses

Please sign and share the petition widely to urge the Australian Racing Board to ban the use of whips on horses.

According to a report by ABC News Australia, a study has found that horses are thin-skinned and feel pain when whipped during horse racing.

Academic, Professor Paul McGreevy, says the level of whipping that a horse suffers during racing would be considered an act of cruelty if it happened elsewhere, as the study found that whips make clear indentations on horses' skin more than 80 per cent of the time.

In Australia, jockeys have used a padded whip since 2009 to reduce the impact on the horse, however, Professor McGreevy found that horses were struck frequently with the unpadded section of the whip, more than half the time.

The RSPCA wants Australia to follow the example set by Norway, where whips were banned from horse racing in 1982.

Horses deserve better treatment. Will you join me in urging Australian Racing Board chief executive Peter McGauran to ban the use of whips on horses?

Please sign and share the petition.