Animal rights activists say the Melbourne Cup's days are numbered, as their supporters increase in number every year, and the crowds of protesters grow larger and louder.
CHARLIE MOORE: ‘An animal cruelty scandal surrounding the racing industry has been identified as the key factor behind a fall in the crowd, television ratings and betting turnover for Tuesday’s running of the Melbourne Cup. The crowd at Flemington of 81,408 was the lowest for the Cup in 24 years while viewing numbers on television dropped by half a million and were the lowest for five years, while betting turnover also fell. Attendance at Flemington has dropped for four straight years after 101,015 turned out in 2015…
Animal rights activists, who point out that six horses have been killed due to injuries while racing in the Cup since 2013, put the decline down to increasing awareness about animal welfare and cruelty. Emily Rice, the head of animal rights group PETA, told Daily Mail Australia: ‘The Melbourne Cup’s days are numbered’… Anti-racing activists, who had long campaigned for a public boycott of the race, said their supporters increase in number every year. ‘The crowds of protesters grow larger and louder,’ said Ms Rice after hundreds of campaigners protested with banners and placards outside Flemington…
The TV ratings figures for the Cup fell to 1.32 million metropolitan viewers according to media industry website Mumbrella, compared to 1.836 for Channel Seven last year. Channel Ten said the figures were actually 1.44 million as the telecast continued on later this year. The amount of money wagered on the Cup through the TAB fell by 7.8 per cent to $106 million, while online and on-course bookmakers also reported reduced turnover without disclosing figures…
The race came two weeks after an ABC documentary aired horrifying footage of more than 300 former racehorses being led to slaughter at an abattoir in Queensland’s south-east. The ill-treatment of the horses at the abattoir, and the way former racehorses were abandoned, created widespread outrage with many viewers pledging never to attend a horse race again… Shocking vision showed workers at the abattoir mistreating the horses, whipping them, kicking them and even yelling abuse at them’. SOURCE…
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