Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegal fly grazing in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

The Control of Horses Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) came into force on 26 May and specifically applies to horses that are fly-grazing or abandoned on another person’s land. Under the 2015 Act, local authorities and private owners and occupiers of land are able to deal with fly-grazing or abandoned horses more quickly and effectively. Specifically, it permits the disposal of such horses after 4 working days from detention, rather than the 14 days currently prescribed by the previous law. The 2015 Act applies to the whole of England.