‘Horse Graveyard’ Erected at Perth Cup Do-Over

‘Horse Graveyard’ Erected at Perth Cup Do-Over

Tombstones Haunt Ascot After Brutal Horse Death

Perth – After a collision at the Perth Cup on New Year’s Day left five-year-old mare

Chili Is Hot dead and gelding Dom To Shoot lame, the rescheduled race has been met with a striking “horse graveyard” demonstration coordinated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR).

Nine gravestones bearing the names as well as the years of birth and death of horses killed at Ascot since October 2021 were erected outside the racecourse, while protesters reminded punters that when you bet, horses die.

A total of 21 horses have been killed on West Australian racetracks since October 2021.

“It’s always sad when a horse is killed or injured on a racetrack, but it’s never surprising,” said PETA Communications Advisor Emily Rice. “The racing industry treats these sensitive individuals as mere collateral damage in the name of greed and entertainment.”

CPR’s most recent “Deathwatch” report revealed that 139 horses either died or suffered a life-ending injury on Australian racetracks between 1 August 2021 and 31 July 2022.

“A horse dies on an Australian racetrack every 2.5 days,” says CPR Campaign Director Elio Celotto. “An analysis of 2021–2022 stewards’ reports found that Perth’s Ascot racetrack was the deadliest in Australia. Instead of finding solutions to the large numbers of injuries and deaths that plague the industry, they would prefer hide them behind a green screen.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – notes that the temperature in Perth reached 32 degrees today, when horses were forced to run at up to 60 kilometres per hour.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.au and HorseRacingKills.com.