Australia’s peak breeding organisation has launched a national program to prioritise and promote the welfare of thoroughbreds.
Under the initiative by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, all state breeding associations will adopt a set of agreed guidelines and appoint welfare officers.
The guidelines outline the fundamental principles for the care of thoroughbred breeding stock.
“We already have a very high standard of care for our horses in the breeding industry, but I believe it is important for the TBA to highlight the message that welfare needs to be at the heart of what we do,” TBA president Basil Nolan said.
“We are fortunate that Australia has the second largest breeding industry in the world, but we always need to look to ways to protect our future and I believe this initiative assists in that aim.”
The guidelines will be reinforced by the engagement of welfare officers in each state and a dedicated 1300 telephone number for people to contact if they have concerns regarding the welfare of a thoroughbred.
The officers, who will work on a part-time basis, will be tasked with advocating on welfare, being a point of contact for people with concerns about the treatment of breeding stock, liaising with other relevant stakeholders about thoroughbred care and organising industry assistance when needed.
TBA is the parent company of the six state breeders’ associations and has an associate membership base of 3800 individual breeders and other industry participants.
