Animal-based entertainment industries, animal death and Social Licence to Operate (SLO): an analysis of ‘The Final Race’ and the 2019 Melbourne Cup

Abstract

Animal-based entertainment industries, predicated on asymmetrical human-animal relations, often operate legally but face growing opposition, focused particularly on animal death. In 2019, the documentary ‘The Final Race’ screened about two weeks before Australia’s most famous thoroughbred horse race, the Melbourne Cup, and exposed the secretive slaughter of unwanted racehorses in the ‘deep backstage’. This article highlights the importance of animals being made killable and what happens when animals supposedly being cared for are killed. Temporal and spatial boundary construction and movement are examined. Building on critical approaches to Social Licence to Operate (SLO), the article presents evidence that due mainly to animal death, social identification with horse racing is declining and social identification with resistance is rising, yet some pushback is occurring. This includes acknowledgement of past failings, presenting a united industry voice and slowly shifting boundaries to construct some horses as killable.