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Organisers of an anti-racing event have taken down a video of a violent speech made by a performer who addressed the event, which called for Melbourne Cup attendees to be euthanised.<\/p>\n
The Nup to the Cup event was organised by the Coalition for the Protection of Race Horses and hosted at the Flemington and Kensington Bowls Club, across the road from the racecourse. It was attended and promoted by Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell, who condemned the speech.<\/p>\n
Writer and performer Tobias Manderson-Galvin emceed the event. He describes himself on his website as a \u201cperformance maker, artist and writer based in Narm\/Melbourne\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis practice routinely troubles the capitalist myths of scarcity, stability, and freedom; the responsibility of authority; and the potential of performance as a site of political action,\u201d his profile states.<\/p>\n
In the video, Manderson-Galvin can be heard saying: \u201cEvery single silk shirted, flat-capped, tiny jockey little small bean, cover their corpses in the big, green screen. Show it on the TV and then fill \u2019em full of lead, from one to 24 \u2019til every f\u2013\u2013g jockey\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to those in attendance at Flemington Racecourse, he said: \u201cThey\u2019re all in there now. Well, in their parlance, let\u2019s euthanise the lot on mass.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elio Celotto says he was at the protests outside Flemington on Cup day.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n Purcell, who has been attending Nup to the Cup events for 10 years, condemned the speech.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the first time that there has ever been commentary or display like that.\u201d she said. \u201cI was completely taken by surprise. Our movement is one of non-violence, and that applies to both people and animals.<\/p>\n \u201cI said to my staff the moment it happened that I didn\u2019t feel comfortable being present for it.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that she called organisers on Friday to express this view. Asked why she didn\u2019t approach organisers on the day, Purcell said: \u201cOn reflection, perhaps I should have, but Melbourne Cup Day for me, as a member of Parliament now, is highly demanding. I had a number of media interviews I had to do, and I left the event for other reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Manderson-Galvin stopped short of taking back his comments, describing the speech as a satirical poem.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing I regret is that there is a continued need to make art in response to the despicable practice of horse racing,\u201d he told this masthead.<\/p>\n The video was uploaded to the Nup to the Cup Facebook event by an external party.<\/p>\n Campaign director Elio Celetto said the video was posted without the group\u2019s knowledge, and was deleted after it received criticism online.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also abhor any form of violence. The speech that was made by a guest emcee, and he came up without consulting anybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was intended to be satirical, it was not meant to be taken seriously. Certainly, what he said is not something that the CRP support in any way, shape or form,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would not condone any form of violence towards any other people.\u201d<\/p>\n Celetto was not in attendance the day of the event, as he was protesting outside the racecourse. He added he had not seen the video.<\/p>\n The speech also suggested racegoers should be drowned in mud.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, what he said is not something that the CRP support in any way, shape or form.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen get every \u2026 boy and all the horsie girls and drown them in the mud, and the fashion in the field, let\u2019s splatter that shit in blood.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTurn them all to glue, and leave nothing but the grass. And if you still want to race after all that\u2019s done and said, go stand behind the f\u2014g horse and let it kick you in the head.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorse\u2019s statement, Manderson-Galvin said: \u201cThe poem is a satire on the racing industry\u2019s complicity in the deaths of its horses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI struggle to believe those seeking to create outrage are taking it literally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t run the poem by anyone in advance of performing it because I assumed anyone present would understand it as metaphor – however difficult the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n Manderson-Galvin said he wasn\u2019t an active member of the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses and had not emceed previously, but had attended protests in the past.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s Melbourne Cup was the third fatality-free running of the race in as many years, after tighter safety protocols were adopted following the spring carnival of 2020.<\/p>\n The Victoria Racing Club, which hosts the Melbourne Cup Carnival, said threats to anyone are uncalled-for.<\/p>\n \u201cEquine health and safety sit at the heart of everything the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) does in racing, and the Club and the wider racing industry, led by Racing Victoria, prioritise the health and safety of horses before, during and after racing,\u201d the club said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe initiatives Racing Victoria has led and implemented, along with the VRC in recent years for horses competing in the Spring Racing Carnival and in particular the Melbourne Cup, set a new global standard for horse and jockey safety with the introduction of some of the world\u2019s most stringent pre-travel and pre-race veterinary screening processes.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister for Racing Anthony Carbines has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
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