When: TODAY Friday 24 July 12pm sharp
Where: Seddon Statue Area of Parliament House
Join us in the Seddon Statue area of Parliament House as the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) Wellington
Campaign Manager Frances Baker, SAFE Campaign Director Ilan Goldberg and MP Gareth Hughes address the media and the
public in acknowledgement of our petition submission to the New Zealand government.
Today at midday sharp, CPR will be presenting their petition, signed by over 10,000 people, calling on the government to
withdraw their $72.5 million racing industry bailout package, to Greens MP Gareth Hughes who will later present this to
the government on their behalf.
"Instead of propping up a dying animal cruelty and gambling industry, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses and
signatories to our petition are calling on the government to instead invest in sustainable, innovative and cruelty-free
business models" said CPR spokeperson Frances Baker.
We invite the media to be present as Gareth Hughes MP, CPR Wellington's Campaign Manager Frances Baker and animal
protection organisation SAFE's Campaign Director Ilan Goldberg, make a public address, highlighting the cruelty of the
New Zealand horse racing industry and this unacceptable spend of tax-payer dollars at a time when essential services and
small businesses are struggling to survive.
"Horses used for racing are bred specifically to be trained, ridden and gambled on. The business model is to make
profit, and with the mountains of evidence emerging from every horse racing industry around the world, it is clear that
the model is not to love horses and give horses a life worth living.
"At a time when the options for cruelty-free forms of entertainment are endless, our government we must stop using
tax-payer dollars to prop up gambling and the suffering and death of animals" Ms Baker said.
You can find our important petition here change.org/NoRacingBailout and please join us in the Seddon Statue area of parliament house to witness our petition handover and media address.Some key facts:Approximately 3,000 racehorses vanish from the NZ Thoroughbred Racing industry each yearRacehorses are pushed well beyond their limits resulting in deaths on track, bleeding from the lungs, and painful
injuriesFed concentrated high protein diets often resulting in stomach ulcers, horses used for racing are isolated in small
stalls for most of the day, unable to graze, often resulting in wood chewing, box walking, windsucking and weaving.Abusive training methods and implements of cruelty such as whips, tongue ties, spurs, and blinkers help to traumatise
racehorses and lead to learned helplessness