Tabcorp

Without gambling, there’d be no racing.

Tabcorp could use virtual racing and avoid these annual death and injury tolls: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. Tabcorp is big on fancy words, but there is no substance behind them when it comes to animal welfare. Just like its vision statement, Tabcorp’s animal welfare position statement is just more meaningless words and no action.

We're in the business of entertainment: something we can't deliver without trust. In everything we do we strive to be trusted and respected, with the best, most exciting products, all delivered to a standard that makes us proud. We act every day and over the long term to earn, re-earn and reinforce this trust. And we do it through holding ourselves to the highest standards and acting responsibly to build a sustainable future for our industry. All while entertaining Australia.
Tabcorp Vision Statement https://www.tabcorp.com.au/who-we-are/our-vision-and-purpose
tabcorp values

Sadly, Tabcorp could show leadership on animal welfare by requiring its racing industry partners to lift their game, but has failed to do so. See the evidence of this below.

Tabcorp - claims vs fiction

Claims

Fact

Tabcorp’s ASX disclosure statement says –

“7.7. Sports integrity and animal welfare

As a participant in the thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing industries through the offering of wagering products, Tabcorp expects the highest standards of animal welfare and integrity and has zero tolerance to animal cruelty, in racing and in society in general. Tabcorp is committed to working in partnership with racing industries to ensure the welfare of animals is prioritised.”

CPG asked Tabcorp what it had achieved for animal welfare by ‘working with its industry partners’ – the answer was zero.

You can read about it in full here (courtesy of the Crikey news website).

It’s also very hard to reconcile Tabcorp’s public statements on animal welfare with its annual sponsorship of the Million Dollar Chase (MDC).

The many heats and grand final resulted in many injuries.
  • The MDC results in a fresh round of injuries each year.
  • The 2018 MDC terms and conditions included a promise (items 18-20) that the participating dogs would get to live, but this welfare measure has been removed from the latest MDC race terms and conditions. Given this, why is Tabcorp still sponsoring the MDC?
  • Given its animal welfare policy, has Tabcorp asked its partner GRNSW about moving to six-dog races in order to reduce greyhound deaths and injuries? This is a basic and obvious question for anyone who cares about greyhound welfare and is making money from dog racing.
What should Tabcorp do to prove it has integrity and deserves public trust? It should work with its industry partners to make beneficial change for racing dogs and horses. CPG’s five-point plan explains how to do this and includes whole-of-life tracking of each dog, reduced breeding, sanctuaries and increased penalties for mistreatment. CPG’s ultimate goal is to have greyhound racing shut down.

Some related media coverage: