New Lenz: Tasracing to regulate welfare guidelines

Tasracing insists achieving ‘best practice animal welfare’ is a major objective, with a Queenslander with years of experience recruited to lead the way.

Tasracing chief veterinary and animal welfare officer Martin Lenz at Elwick Racecourse. Picture: Chris Kidd

TASRACING’S new animal welfare boss is confident their pending Code of Practice (COP) for equine welfare and management will help regulate the industry’s standards and, crucially, give stewards more power to enforce them.

Dr Martin Lenz was appointed Tasracing’s chief veterinary and animal welfare officer in mid-January.

He has 16 years of experience for Queensland Racing and later the Queensland Racing and Integrity Commission, similar to the hierachical split between Tasracing and the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI).

A joint statement from Tasracing and the ORI, issued on Monday, said ‘a draft COP for equine welfare and management is under development, and follows a review of industry rules by the two bodies.’

The Tasmanian racing industry has had a torrid couple of weeks, with calls growing for the ORI to conduct an inquiry into the state of the harness racing industry.

It was followed by MPs and animal activists claiming changes to the state’s greyhound adoption program would result in more dogs dying needlessly.

Welfare matters within the racing industry, particularly the greyhound and harness codes, were a major topic in state parliament on Thursday.

Opposition Racing spokesman Dean Winter asked Racing Minister, Madeleine Ogilvie, why former chief harness racing steward Steve Shinn was stood down without explanation, and questioned the prolonged absence of head greyhound steward Michael Hoyle.

Minister Olgilvie released a statement later on Thursday branding the parliament proceedings a “targeted attack on the Tasmanian racing industry,” and that comments from independent Member for Clark, Kristie Johnston, regarding the number of greyhounds that leave the industry each year are false.

“In 2021/22, as published in the Tasracing annual report, the actual number of greyhounds that left the industry in that year was 305, and 219 of those greyhounds were rehomed” Ogilvie said.

“It defies logic to suggest that 700 greyhounds leave the industry annually.”

In the 2013/14, the last year of the Labor/Green minority government, 486 greyhounds were euthanised. That has been reduced to 43 greyhounds last financial year by comparison, under our government.

Tasracing chief veterinary and animal welfare officer Martin Lenz at Elwick Racecourse. Picture: Chris Kidd

“Despite Mr Winter and Ms O’Connor’s (Greens leader Cassy O’Connor’s) coordinated efforts, I will not be drawn into individual staffing matters, and Labor and the Greens know it is not appropriate for me to comment on specific employment matters.”

The Mercury wrote earlier this month a harness racing industry veteran recently sent a letter to MPs urging the government to act on the industry’s concerns.

“To say that the state of harness racing in Tasmania is at its worst would be a complete understatement,” the letter said.

“A full inquiry needs to be undertaken by independent parties who have an understanding of the industry but are in no way affiliated with anyone in Tasmania.”

Lenz believes Tasracing is doing everything possible to ensure animal welfare protocols are strong.

“I really feel there’s a genuine desire from Tasracing to really make an impact in the animal welfare field,” he said.

“The rules of racing, while they address certain issues really well, they’re probably not as refined in the equine welfare area as they could be. This is where something like this instrument (COP) can fill that gap, and get the overall job done.

“It might be the first time a state jurisdiction has gone about drafting and implementing a COP, that’s a feather in the cap for Tasmania.

“The overall aim is to help to optimise animal welfare across the board. Working in tandem with the sister organisations and potentially other government departments as well to make that a reality.”

A key aspect of the new COP is it will be enforceable by stewards, which should be a bigger deterrent for industry participants contemplating breaking welfare guidelines.

“It will be an instrument designed to be enforceable by the stewards,” he said.

”A Code of Practice has two sections. One is standards which is the enforceable part, then guidelines which are voluntary.

“As things move on, the guidelines can get absorbed into the enforceable standards as the level of welfare lifts over time.”

Lenz said his veterinary expertise should give him an advantage in helping implement key changes and help Tasracing meet its welfare objectives.

“I’ve come from Qld which had the same (jurisdiction) split, but mostly the veterinary expertise is with the other bodies, in this case ORI,” he said.

“But it’s the first time Tasracing has had someone with my veterinary background employed (in this position).

“It’s a great opportunity because you’ve obviously got a direct link between the business end and the ability to connect that to any animal welfare initiatives that come up as worthwhile.

“Just like in Queensland it’s a three code business here in Tasmania. Having that exposure to three codes you have that specific experience which can be really helpful for local circumstances.”