Illegal slaughter of ex-racehorses uncovered in Victoria

In a residential backyard, ex-racehorses are being brutally killed. This is the cost of the racing industry.

As a known "horse dealer", Peter Loffel was notorious for buying up ex-racing thoroughbreds and transporting them over 1000km to one of Australia's few licensed horse slaughterhouses. When the last of these stopped accepting horses in 2023, the fate of the horses bought by Loffel became unknown. Until now. 

Farm Transparency Project's latest investigation has found that Peter Loffel has been buying up ex-racehorses and illegally shooting them on his residential property in Victoria.

In the early hours of the morning, Loffel herds groups of horses into a small yard, before shooting them one at a time in front of each other. Terrified, the horses try to escape, or stand in a corner, trying not to look as their paddock mates are killed. One horse, an ex-racing thoroughbred identified as Lady Poppy, attempted to stand and escape after being shot in the head. She was eventually shot again and lay struggling on the ground as she died.

Another, an unidentified standardbred, managed to stand after being shot the first time. He crawled along the floor of the pen and struggled to his feet. Loffel then shot him again, bringing him to his knees but still not ending his life. He continued to struggle for two more shots until eventually falling still.

This is what Racing Australia means when they talk about 'retiring' their horses.

Thoroughbred horses killed by Peter Loffel were identified using brands and microchips. They included Can Get A Witness, a 13-year-old mare who had won $47,000 during her time racing. She was collected by Peter Loffel from Seven Creek Equine Veterinary Clinic, which specialises in breeding and embryo transfer. Also collected from the same location were the thoroughbred mares Lady Poppy, Solo Flight and a fourth, unidentified mare. Loffel was also filmed shooting Deseronto, a 12-year-old thoroughbred gelding who was bought by Cox Plate-winning trainer Greg Eurell in 2016. As a racehorse, he had won almost $40,000 in prize money.

Loffel also kills harness racing standardbreds who he collects from studs and racetracks. While their neck brands had been shaven to make identification difficult, investigators were able to use microchip information to identify some of these horses as ex-racing and breeding standardbreds. Abettawaytodoit was a seven-year-old filly and ex-harness racer who had won over $17,000 for her owners. She was shot by Loffel in September 2026, just one month before she would turn eight. She was killed in the same group as Loyola Zoe Em, a six-year-old standardbred broodmare.

Slaughtered horses are loaded onto a truck and driven ten minutes down the road to Peter Loffel's knackery. Here, he cuts up horses and cows that have been shot and turns them into pet food, which is commonly bought by greyhound trainers. As well as racehorses, Loffel processes dozens of dairy cows, many of whom are pregnant when they are killed. Their calves are pulled from them and dumped in the offal bins.

Horses, generally racehorses, who have died from other causes are also processed at the knackery. One of these was Aspetta, a nine-year old thoroughbred broodmare who had already had three foals, one who had died at birth in 2024. Aspetta was sold to Daisy Thoroughbreds in July 2025. She was impregnated again in November and died of a massive prolapse while giving birth. Her body and the body of her foal ended up at the knackery, cut up and dumped to be sent to the rendering plant.