While some traditional Australia Day events across the country have moved to new dates, a century old event has returned to Tasmania after a Covid-induced hiatus.
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00:00 There are hundreds of people gathered here today cheering on the ferrets as they race
00:05 for the title of Tasmania's fastest ferret.
00:09 Ferret racing has been a tradition here for decades.
00:12 Today 26 ferrets are competing in 13 heats before things get spicy in the finals.
00:18 There's been great variation on the track.
00:21 Some have navigated through with speed and precision while others haven't quite taken
00:25 to it, stopping midway through or even reversing.
00:30 Here's what some of the competitors had to say today.
00:32 And how do you think Chorlop's going to go today?
00:34 Oh she's very skinny you see.
00:36 She's very long, she might do very well.
00:38 We've been doing this for quite a few years now.
00:40 I reckon this will be my ninth or tenth year.
00:43 We've had ferrets ever since Pop was growing up.
00:46 He's had them since he was a kid and it's kind of been passed down to me and my younger sister.
00:50 Molly decided to go backwards, which isn't like her.
00:53 She came third a few years ago.
00:56 But no, she let me down today.
00:58 She decided to go backwards.
01:00 He's just so malleable.
01:02 But today isn't just fun and ferrets.
01:04 Organisers stress today is a community event, not an Australia Day event.
01:08 They say they'll debrief after today and if the community feedback is it's time to move
01:13 to another date, they'll take that on board and consider another time in January.
01:17 in January.
01:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]