Flogging a Live Horse An Open Letter to Horseracing Authorities on the Scientific and Legal Case Against Whipping

Have you ever bet on a horse race? Each bet helps sustain an industry that, under its own rules, legally delivers millions of whip strikes to horses every year. Horse racing is a multibillion-dollar global industry, but at its heart should be the welfare of the animals who race. Written as an open letter to horseracing authorities, but also a fascinating exposé for anyone interested in the sport, this book synthesises 15 years of peer-reviewed research by a multi-award-winning scientist, encompassing whip use in racing and coercion in horse sports more generally to make the scientific and legal case against these practices. Covering the science of applying pressure in animal training, coercion and exhaustion, the author team - a veterinary behaviour scientist and a barrister - set out a legal analysis of what constitutes cruelty to animals across common law jurisdictions, and confront why enforcement of the laws on cruelty to animals is so often absent. Their research was cited in evidence in a landmark Tasmanian prosecution that found, for the first time, striking a horse with an industry-approved padded whip constitutes animal cruelty. From the history of whip-use and restrictive gear through to the ethical implications of sustaining such practices, the authors call on racing's regulators to reckon with how the law approaches animal welfare and cruelty, and how science, in turn, should inform the law.