“THE JIGGER’S UP” – By Des Kelly

Animal cruelty, where one LEAST expects it from.

One of the best-known racehorse trainers, in Australia, Darren Weir and his mate & stable foreman Jarrod McLean have been summoned by the Victoria Racing Authorities to explain why a police raid had uncovered 4 jiggers (a small electronic device that emits an electric shock, obviously for the purpose of winning horse races by “jolting” the poor animal into desperately lunging forward, simply to avoid yet another “jig” even as it races it’s heart out to keep it’s ungrateful trainer “in work”.

You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that, once again, it is simply a greed for making even more money than these trainers already do, agreed?!!. Everyone gets involved now. Other racehorse trainers are obviously on the bandwagon, stable-hands, male & female, jockeys, owners of the animals themselves, EVERYONE!!, but who suffers ?,

Unfortunately, it comes down to these beautiful dumb animals who race around the tracks, sometimes breaking down, with the effort, and having to be put down by Vets, all for the sake of doing what they do, to make their trainers and owners richer.

There is quite a bit of “breaking news”, as they now call it on television, about the above story & I believe that Darren Weir is about to plead guilty to the charges, while Jarrod McLean is going to “fight” them. I don’t know either.

Guess that they are ordinary Aussie blokes, doing their thing to put food on the table, for their families, but I feel certain that neither Harry Telford nor groomsman/strapper of one of the most famous racehorses in Australian history, Phar Lap, EVER used a jigger on this “big-Red”, Tommy Woodock, his “strapper” even sleeping in the same outhouse as this champion racehorse, just to make sure that nothing happened to his charge. However, even all the care taken on this big Chestnut was not enough to save it from a large dose of arsenic poisoning, administered by person/s unknown, on the orders of American Gangsters who feared that this horse from Australia would come out and beat all their champions in America. All this happened a very long time ago, so Phar Lap was just 6 years old when he died in 1932. Strangely enough, right now, in 2019, once again, Australia boasts the Champion Racehorse in the entire World, namely Winx, another beautiful mare who, hopefully was not “jigged” herself.

The long and the short of it all is this, my good reader.

Personally, just as the first love of my life is beautiful music, the first “hate”is undoubtedly ‘Animal Cruelty” I absolutely abhor animal cruelty of ANY SORT. Growing up, in Ceylon, my “pets” started with baby squirrels, going to school with me in my shirt pockets, fed, and looked after, by me, from the age of about 7. I’ve had pet dogs, cats, birds and goldfish by the dozen, looked after them until they died of natural causes. I have got into trouble many times, protecting these pets. Some postmen did not fancy some of our dogs, but they knew better than to kick them or run over them on purpose. I have never been happy with Australia-Post, anyway.

Jiggers are very small gadgets. If racehorses had skins akin to the Rhinos, it would not be so bad, but they are a thin-skinned beautiful animal and would certainly feel the totally unnecessary stab of electricity going through them.

“ANIMAL CRUELTY, NOT ON YOUR LIFE.

SOMEDAY, IT ENDS UP, WITH TERRIBLE STRIFE”

Owners, & trainers, of Racehorses & Greyhounds take NOTE