Understanding the market consequences of whipping (or its abolishment) is critical in making informed, ethical decisions about using animals for sport, McGreevy said. | Photo: iStock

Putting an end to whipping racehorses isn’t going to reduce public interest in the sport and or lead to a significant drop in the number of gamblers, recent study results suggest.

But overall, men were more likely than women to approve of whipping during a race, and lower-income populations were more likely to refuse to bet on races if authorities banned whipping, the Australian survey results revealed.

In their study of more than 1,500 Australian adults surveyed by an independent polling company, researchers found that 74% of respondents did not approve of whipping during a race and 90% would continue to watch and bet on racing if horses weren’t whipped. The fact that only 13% would stop gambling on or attending whip-free events runs contrary to what authorities believed, said Paul McGreevy, BVSc, PhD, MRCVS, MACVS (Animal Welfare), professor of animal behavior and animal welfare science at the University of Sydney, in Australia