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Vinyl-clad "dominatrices" with whips and signs reading "Some People like Whips, Horses Don't" picketed the Australian Racing Museum at Federation Square this morning in a protest timed to coincide with the introduction  of new horse-whipping rules on 1 August. These rules will 'allow the use of "padded" whips and permit jockeys to whip horses five times before the final stretch, after which horses can be whipped an additional three times...' - From a PETA news release.

'Why does horse racing have PETA's lovely dominatraces whipped into a frenzy? During races, horses are painfully whipped as they run frantically in front of hundred of screaming "punters". Because horses begin training and racing when their skeletal systems are still developing, many sustain serious muscle and joint injuries, fractures, internal bleeding, musculo-skeletal trauma and ruptured ligaments. Whipping horses can force them to run faster and exacerbate existing injuries, leading to catastrophic breakdowns.

'By age three - when they are still physically immature - most horses have seen their last race. When horses become injured or suffer from chronic diseases, many are sent to slaughter. An undercover investigation at a slaughterhouse in Melbourne revealed that weak, emaciated horses were shot in the head with a rifle - often in full view of other horses.

'"It's one thing for consenting adults to use whips in the privacy of their own homes", says "dominatrix" Anita Frank. "But beating horses into running faster is nothing short of animal abuse."'

Interestingly enough, the Racing Museum was advertising the celebration on Sunday  2 August of the traditional "horses' birthday" ...

For the new rules, see:

http://www.australianracingboard.com.au/press/whiprules.pdf

Extracts:

'From the 1st August 2009 only padded whips are to be used in races and official trials.'

'The best scientific advice available to us says that padded whips do not inflict pain or
injury, and that is the outcome we want.'

See also http://www.petaasiapacific.com