Court Concludes Padded Racing Whips Hurt Horses
'The Magistrates Court in Tasmanian has made the groundbreaking ruling that whipping a horse with a padded whip does indeed cause pain and suffering to the horse,' said General Manager for the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, Helle Erhardsen.
'This ruling is significant because it wasn't any old whip in question, it was the specific padded whip which is approved for racing, and which Racing Australia claims do not hurt horses.'
The conventional whip was replaced with a padded whip in 2009 because of the massive public concern about the pain it inflicts upon horses to be whipped.
Despite studies which, according to the RSPCA, show that the padded whip 'will cause a similar level of pain as occurs with a conventional whip', the racing industry has justified its continued use of the whip by arguing it has not been proven that whipping hurts horses. With this court decision, that argument is no longer valid.
The guilty ruling relates to Tasmanian racehorse trainer Liandra Gray, who was recorded on CCTV in July 2022 hitting a racehorse with a padded whip more than 40 times. Under the Animal Welfare Act, the RSPCA charged the trainer with committing an act which 'caused or was likely to cause unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering to an animal.'
The defendant Liandra Gray pleaded not guilty. In her defence, she claimed she had used less force with the whip than a jockey would in a race. On May 27, 2025, after considering extensive evidence, including several hearings and expert reports, Magistrate Evan Hughes of Devonport Court found the defendant Liandra Gray guilty:
Although the whip was padded, it was proven that it caused the horse to experience 'unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering.'
'The Australian racing industry can no longer hide behind a smokescreen of being unaware of the pain they are allowing jockeys and trainers to inflict upon horses used for racing,' said Ms Erhardsen.
'We now have a legal judgement that whipping a horse with a padded whip is a criminal act of cruelty to animals. In light of this, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses once again calls for an immediate ban of whip use across the racing industry.'
Currently in Australia jockeys are permitted to strike their horse five times prior to the last 100 metres of a race, and from thereon at their own 'discretion'.
'This court decision could just be the best news of all time for the welfare of racehorses in Australia,' Ms Erhardsen said.
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