Minutes of the Meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Horse held in TV Interview Room in the House of Lords, London SW1 on Tuesday, 26 May 2012 at 4 p.m. Present: Baroness Mallalieu (Chairman) Mr David Bowles (RSPCA) Ms Rachel Cunningham (Blue Cross) Mr James Gray MP Dr Harry Greenway Mr Lee Hackett () Brig Paul Jepson (British Equine Veterinary Assn) Baroness Masham of Ilton Prof Tim Morris (British Horseracing Assn) Mr Roly Owers (World Horse Welfare) Mrs Lynn Petersen () Ms Jessica Stark (World Horse Welfare) Apologies: (Shown on last page) In Attendance: Mrs Annemarie Westwood (Minutes) The Chairman opened the meeting and then handed the chair to Dr Harry Greenway to conduct the AGM. Annual General Meeting Mrs Annemarie Westwood confirmed that Baroness Mallalieu, Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger, Mr Tony Cunningham, Mr Roger Williams and Baroness Masham of Ilton had agreed to stand again for election. The following officers were elected unanimously: Chairman Baroness Ann Mallalieu Labour Prop: James Gray MP Vice- Chairmen Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP Mr Tony Cunningham MP Conservative Labour Prop: Baroness Mallalieu Prop: Baroness Mallalieu Secretary Mr Roger Williams MP LibDem Prop: Baroness Mallalieu Sec Baroness Masham Treasurer Baroness Masham of Ilton Crossbench Prop Baroness Mallalieu Sec James Gray MP Baroness Mallalieu took over the chair. Future of the Committee Mr James Gray mentioned that in Jack Straw s review, he was looking at reducing the number of All Party Groups and would be establishing a committee to look closely at the groups. Minutes of the Meeting held on 6th March 2012 The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and were signed as a true record. 1
Matters Arising Sentencing Council Mr Owers reiterated that the RSPCA had offered to collate incidents where the sentencing in equine welfare prosecutions is deemed inadequate. Whip Enquiry ACTION: ALL Professor Morris said that since the introduction of the new regulations, some very competitive racing had been seen at the major race meetings. Jockeys had changed their behaviour and the number of offences in connection with welfare, for instance hitting a horse in the wrong place or a horse which was out of the racing had dropped by 68%. New rules had also significantly reduced the incidence of horses being marked. Jockeys were still allowed to use a whip, but are being more considered in that use. Baroness Masham asked whether other countries were using the whip less because of the UK Whip Enquiry. Professor Morris said the Irish were now using the same whip as in GB. Grand National Professor Morris said that in a race with 40 runners, where the fences are jumped so infrequently, it takes several runnings of a race to see what the effects will be when items are changed. The BHA carried a major review in 2011 and had input from a variety of organisations, including the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare. He stressed that one had to be realistic and accept that risk could not be abolished altogether. For this year s race, the finish was much more under control, and the Authority s attention is now being turned to make the start more controlled, but it was coming down to the issue of balancing the risk with the use of horses. Undoubtedly in the context of equine events the Grand National was much more risky, but it was a case of getting the balance right. Following on from this year s race the BHA are not carrying out another comprehensive review but will be updating last year s review conclusions with the outcome of this year s Aintree meet. Voluntary Equine Animal Trading Scheme Mr Owers said a useful meeting had been held with the British Horse Society which was looking at launching a Dealers Scheme. Mr Owers said that the Disease Coalition were holding off their scheme as it was highly unlikely that two parallel schemes would work in practice. Mrs Petersen confirmed that the BHS was about to run a small scale pilot scheme. Flu Vaccinations Brigadier Jepson said that BEVA was in discussion with the BHA and the FEI about the feasibility of including a requirement in the regulations for only the most up to date influenza vaccinations to be used in competing horses. BEVA are also in discussion with the pharmaceutical companies to explore ways of encouraging them (diplomatically) to update their equine influenza vaccines in line with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) recommendations. 2
Hot Branding The Chairman said there was an altercation going on in the South West involving the Exmoor Pony Society and a campaigner against hot branding. The campaigner, who had already collected over 10,000 signatures, was against the hot branding of domesticated Exmoor ponies, and against the multiple hot branding of feral ponies. The Chairman said there were exemptions under current legislation, but the breed society seemed to have interpreted it by giving everyone the option of whether or not to brand their ponies. The brand was used as a means of identification from a distance of wild ponies. Exmoor was different as in many cases at least three brands were used; an individual number, a herd number, and the Exmoor star. The exemptions applied to a very small number of ponies living on the moor, but seemed to be being used on domestic ponies which would not go out on the hill. The Chairman had been asked to raise the subject in the House of Lords and had put down a question to the Minister. However, she understood that Defra did not want to get involved. She was therefore raising it now as she wanted to learn more on the subject and how the matter could be taken forward. She appreciated there was a need for a small exemption, but it was being used much too widely. The Chairman understood that all the main welfare organisations were opposed to hot branding. Brigadier Jepson said the technology needed to identify animals at a distance did not yet exist. Microchipping was excellent, but didn t go far enough and more investigation into this was needed. In the New Forest, ponies had one brand which meant a pony could be identified quickly without a reader if it was involved in an accident. It was difficult to say categorically that hot branding caused psychological damage, though research by Mark Kennedy concluded it was a painful process. There was a proposal to carry out research into the lasting effects in the New Forest, and Brigadier Jepson had had a meeting with the Verderers to facilitate this. The RSPCA had carried out research into hot branding and freeze branding and concluded that there was a welfare issue with hot branding and they were therefore opposed to hot branding, but not to freeze branding. Brigadier Jepson said the argument against freeze branding was that an animal had to be restrained for longer, and there was more likely to be a lasting psychological effect on feral ponies. When a single hot brand was used, the pony possibly didn t feel the brand due to the adrenaline running through its system from being handled. Mr Owers said that the only clear justification for a branding a horse was for security as the probability of an animal being stolen was significantly reduced if it was branded. An often repeated claim in support of hot branding was that an animal s owner could be identified at a distance by reading the brand. However, during the winter it was often not possible to read the brand, and in any event there was no justification for multiple branding. If Exmoor moved to a single brand this would be a huge step forward. Professor Morris had connections on Exmoor, and said that one of the biggest mircrochip manufacturers was based there and were very keen to develop the technology so it could be used on the ponies. He said the Exmoor Pony Society was not resistant to change, but they felt they were being lectured to by outsiders. The people who carried out the branding on the moor were very experienced, but the problem arose when it was done elsewhere. Professor Morris said the way forward was better dialogue with the Society rather than individual pressure groups. Mr Owers said that a lot of effort had been put in by the welfare organisations to have a constructive dialogue with the Exmoor Pony Society and others. The priority was to get agreement for the Exmoor Pony Society to move from multiple brands to one brand. Mr Owers said Defra were unlikely to legislate on it. There had been 3
engagement in some quarters that might produce results. There was a meeting of the Equine Health & Welfare Strategy the following day and the matter would be discussed then to agree a cohesive way forward. Mr Hackett said the matter could also be taken up through the British Horse Society Horse & Pony Breeds Committee, which the Exmoor Pony Society already engages with, to see if some agreement could be reached. There needed to be a facilitator between the Breed Societies and the vets. The Chairman said she would tell the people running the campaign that there was movement to have dialogue and people were keen to have something agreed before this season s foals were branded in the Autumn. Equine Summit Mr Bowles reported on the Equine Summit held the previous day. All organisations agreed that the number of welfare cases coming into them was increasing. The RSPCA alone had handled double the number of horses in 2011. The charities were at capacity and having to board horses elsewhere, which had significantly increased their costs and therefore the cost of prosecutions. The summit had discussed why the number of surplus horses was rising and why the way they were being kept was also worse which is leading to a greater number of collapsed horses? There was evidence, but much of it was intangible. The National Equine Database listed over 1m horses, but some of these were dead. The number of horses in the country was unknown, though leisure horses represented 60% of the market. World Horse Welfare had found it difficult to identify how the dealers of low value equines made any money at all. The fear was that organisations would go into the winter at capacity, and if it is a hard winter they would not be able to cope with the numbers. On estimate, there could be c 3,000 prosecution cases which could not be prosecuted as there was nowhere to put the animals. Local Authorities took some prosecutions, but because they took so long and cost so much ( 500 per day) they ran out of money and their priority was farm animals, not horses. Unfortunately the offenders knew which Authorities were unlikely to prosecute, and tended to operate in those areas. Animals were being brought in from the continent and Ireland and people were still breeding unsuitable animals in the UK as they still believed they could make money out of them. The summit agreed that education was the way forward as people needed to understand that they were unlikely to make money on buying, importing or breeding horses. There was also room for broader inter-agency co-operation perhaps using the welfare organisations and the police. The Welsh Assembly was working with various agencies dealing with a case of over 1,000 horses in South Wales. Mr Bowles said there had been many questions raised, but he hoped people gained some guidance from the summit. The issue was on the agenda of the next meeting of the National Equine Welfare Council and he hoped they would agree a practical way to go forward. Mr Hackett said it was not just the number of horses that were causing the problem, but the trend was that each case involved multiple horses whereas in the past it was just one or two horses. One case he was dealing with involved one person owning about 2,500 horses. Horses were being traded as a commodity, and it was the size of the cases which caused the problem. European Transport Regulations Mr Owers said there was a window of opportunity to get change whilst the European Commission was under the Danish Presidency. A transport report was produced by the 4
Commission in November which looked at better enforcement rather than new legislation. The European Parliament was going to support the change for shorter journey times and also a number of Governments including the British Government had supported the justification of change in legislation where scientific evidence supported it, as was the case with the long distance transport of horses to slaughter. At this stage the Commission had recognised it but they would not act on it. Within Europe there are three tiers; the Parliament, the Commission and the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament is very supportive of change, as are some governments; the real sticking point is the Commission. Animal Welfare Strategy The strategy was establishing a framework in law and competencies of those involved. There was an ongoing consultation. Mr Owers would update the meeting in due course. London Riding Horse Parade After the 2011 Parade the Royal Parks wanted to charge 4,000 for the c.80 riders, which was totally unacceptable. Unless this figure could be reduced, the parade would have to be discontinued. A meeting with the Royal Parks was scheduled and Mrs Petersen would report back on the future of the Parade in due course. Possible Visit to Ebony Horse Club and Vauxhall City Farm The Chairman said it would be better to delay the visit until after the Summer break and asked MPs and Peers to indicate if they would be interested in attending. It would be put back until the House was back in October and she hoped that as many people as were interested would take part. Date of Next Meeting This will take place at 4 pm on Tuesday, 4 December 2012. * * * The meeting ended at 5 pm. Apologies Mrs Jeanette Allen (The Horse Trust) Mr Christopher Chope MP Mr Tony Cunningham MP Mr Andrew Finding (BEF) Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP Ms Margaret Mar MP Mr Ben Mayes (BEVA) Mr Grahame Morris MP Mrs Caroline Nokes MP Mr Roger Williams MP 5