I rise to take note of the document Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997—Livestock mortalities during export by sea—report for the period 1 July to 31 December 2020. These latest numbers help to confirm that in 2020, despite it being the year in which so much of the global economy and global trade was disrupted, the brutality of the live export trade still went on. Nothing, it seems, will stop the Australian government from continuing to export sheep and cattle for profit.

I rise tonight to speak about the global shark fin trade and inhumane practise of shark finning. For some years I have spoken out about shark finning, its inherent cruelty and the need for Australia to reject this terrible practice in every way we can. Shark finning involves cutting off a shark's fins, often while it is still alive, then throwing it back into the sea, where it is left to die painfully. This is a horrendous and a barbaric practice. The shark suffers hugely, usually dying from blood loss, suffocation or targeted by another predator.

I rise to speak on an animal welfare matter that has captured the country's attention this fortnight. The 2020 Melbourne Cup claimed the life of Anthony Van Dyck, the latest victim of a race that supposedly stops the nation. This death was heart-wrenching, but sadly no surprise at all. This was not a freak accident or an unforeseeable outcome. This is just the brutal reality of horseracing. The cup has killed seven horses since 2013, including Verema, Admire Rakti, Araldo, Red Cadeaux, Regal Monarch and The Cliffsofmoher. These horses are just the tip of the iceberg.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed the Senate’s agreement to her motion acknowledging all Melbourne Cup horse deaths since 2013 and stating that no horse should die at a racetrack.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Senate has sent a blunt message to the racing industry today: you have failed to protect the animals under your care. Enough is enough.

“Horse racing is inherently dangerous for these animals. No horse is safe at an Australian racetrack.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) the racehorse Anthony Van Dyck died following injuries sustained in the 2020 Melbourne Cup,

   (ii) Anthony Van Dyck was the seventh racehorse to die as a result of the Cup since 2013, following Verema, Araldo, Admire Rakti, Red Cadeaux, Regal Monarch and Cliffsofmoher, and

   (iii) according to stewards' reports, between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020, 116 racehorses died at racetracks, as a result of catastrophic front limb injury, cardiac causes, serious bleeds, head trauma, and other injuries; and

The Greens have backed calls from animal welfare groups and an equine veterinarian for an independent investigation and necropsy report into the death of the racehorse Anthony Van Dyck following Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup race.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens spokesperson for Animal Welfare, said:

“Tuesday’s race was horrific. There are serious questions to answer about this racehorse death. There must be no industry cover-up.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to the death of the Melbourne Cup racehorse Anthony Van Dyck.

Senator Faruqi said:

“This is the brutal reality of horse racing. Anthony Van Dyck’s death is a tragic but hardly unforeseeable outcome. Seven horses have now died as a result of the last eight Melbourne Cup races.

“Horse racing is deadly and completely inhumane. We need to shut this industry down.

“Killing horses for entertainment is barbaric. There is no place for commercial horse racing in our society.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that commercial horse racing is a cruel industry that cannot be trusted or fixed, following reports that retired racehorses continue to be slaughtered for pet food at knackeries in NSW.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Animal Welfare, said:

“The gambling-fuelled racing industry cannot be trusted or fixed. It’s time is up. We have to shut it down.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the federal government has done an extraordinary and devastating backflip on reducing stocking densities for cattle within the new Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL). The new Standards are due to come into effect on 1 November.

Senator Faruqi said:

In respect of the government response to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report Feasibility of a national horse traceability register for all horses, I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.