Mike Dillon: Cobalt cases could find way to court

Victorian racing has been rocked with charges of the illegal use of cobalt being levelled at high-profile trainers. Photo / Thinkstock

If New Zealand's SPCA follows the lead of Australia's RSPCA, racing connections of horses found to have cobalt in their systems could face conviction through the courts.

The RSPCA declared this week it is prepared to press criminal charges in relation to Victoria's spate of cobalt positive drug swabs.

The RSPCA is monitoring the cobalt cases around Australia and working closely with Racing Victoria and Victoria Police.

The animal welfare lobby helped expose disturbing images of animal cruelty in greyhound racing, broadcast on the ABC's Four Corners programme.

The RSPCA in Canberra released the following statement: "The RSPCA takes the reports of the administration of cobalt and formaldehyde to horses extremely seriously and we have made our concerns known to Racing Australia.

"The RSPCA believes that anyone who is found to have supplied or administered medication to racehorses that put their health or welfare at risk should be prevented from participating in the industry." "If their actions are in breach of state animal welfare legislation they should be prosecuted for animal cruelty," a spokesman said.

Cobalt is a heavy metal which has a cumulative effect on a horse's body. It is extremely toxic in the doses regarded in racing as being illegal - 200 micrograms per litre of urine, a level which may soon be lowered as international evidence suggests a level of 100 micrograms is "generous" enough. Cobalt can have a deleterious effect on the liver, kidneys and the nervous system.

RSPCA chief executive Liz Walker, a veterinarian, was strong in her condemnation of the use of performance-enhancing substances in the racing industry. She says: "The administration of any substance which is not for the animal's wellbeing but for financial gain is disgraceful and must stop, as it is gambling with the welfare of an animal and the entire industry."

Victorian racing has been rocked with charges of the illegal use of cobalt being levelled at high-profile trainers Peter Moody, Mark Kavanagh, Danny O'Brien and Lee and Shannon Hope.

Kavanagh's son Sam, a trainer in Sydney, has been found to have cobalt in a number of his horses. During the inquiry Kavanagh admitted to stewards he stopped administering cobalt after significantly adverse reactions in the horses.

One issue confronting the RSPCA is that they can only investigate after a formal complaint. Our SPCA does not have the same constraints. Its mission statement includes: "The SPCA is the only charity with the legal powers to help animals in need, and bring animal offenders to justice. Our inspectors are authorised under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to protect all animals from abuse, neglect and abandonment."