Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said ‘Nup to the Cup’ and will join millions of Australians who won’t be participating in the Melbourne Cup today. A Guardian Essential Poll has found just 8% of Australians have a high interest in horse racing, and almost one third of Australians don’t participate in Melbourne Cup due to animal welfare and gambling concerns.
Senator Faruqi said: “Horse racing is an anachronism that is becoming less and less relevant by the day. Despite the gambling industry propaganda, millions of Australians today will be saying ‘nup to the cup’ and I am one of them.
“Just a few months ago, the ABC revealed a culture of doping, drug abuse and cheating in horse racing. Images of starving ex-racing horsers show that animal cruelty and neglect are still rife.
“Whipping horses to make them run faster is just cruel. One racehorse dies every 3 days in Australia and 119 racehorses have died in the last racing year alone.
“I’m saying ‘Nup to the Cup’ and I encourage others to not participate in gambling fueled animal cruelty,” she concluded.
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