This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Animal rights activists are taking credit after pop star Taylor Swift cancelled her scheduled performance at this year’s Melbourne Cup.

The US singer had been slated to perform two songs from her latest album Lover at Flemington Racecourse on 5 November in what had been billed as her only performance in Australia this year.

But less than two weeks after the performance was announced, Swift pulled out citing scheduling problems.

“Regrettably, Taylor is no longer able to make it to this year’s Melbourne Cup,” promoter Michael Gudinski said in a statement on Saturday. “Changes to her Asian promo schedule have made it logistically impossible for her to be here.”

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On Saturday, the chief executive of the Victoria Racing Club, Neil Wilson, released a statement that Swift was “now unable to make the trip to Australia”.

Wilson said it was “disappointing for everyone”.

Swift’s Melbourne Cup booking was strongly criticised by animal rights groups, who called on Swift to boycott the racing event at which six horses have died since 2013. At last year’s race, The Cliffsofmoher was euthanised on the track after fracturing his shoulder.

The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses had run a social media campaign to ask Swift to say #NupToTheCup.

“Taylor Swift has put money before compassion by agreeing to perform at the 2019 Melbourne Cup,” the group posted online after the announcement Swift would appear.

“Horses are being killed for gambling profits and entertainment. If Taylor Swift cares at all about other animals the way she appears to care about cats, she will cancel her show and make a strong statement that animal abuse is unacceptable.”

Following Swift’s about-turn, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses spokeswoman Kristin Leigh said: “The pressure on Taylor Swift to cancel her performance was significant. Her fans did not want to see her supporting animal abuse.

“Whilst the reason being used by the racing industry is a scheduling mix up, it appears to us that she has responded to those calls.

“Taylor would certainly be much more aware of the cruel reality of horse racing than she was a few weeks ago.”

Emily Rice from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said she “couldn’t be happier” about the pop star’s backflip.

“The event is riddled with horse breakdowns and death and is linked to the bloody horse-slaughter industry,” she said. “None of this cruelty is consistent with the kind person we know Taylor to be.”

The Victoria Racing Club said it was offering refunds to people who purchased cup tickets after Swift’s performance was announced on 12 September.

The club said it would make an announcement about pre-Cup entertainment shortly.

But animal activists said any replacement artists could expect the same backlash.

“We will be keeping a close eye out for whether another artist is announced to perform at the day, which is widely becoming known as a national disgrace,” Leigh said.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report