Horse Racing: Animal Welfare

(asked on 13th September 2018) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times officials in (a) his Department and (b) other Government Departments have met with the British Horseracing Authority in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018 to date to discuss horse deaths on racecourses.


Answered by
David Rutley Portrait
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 15th October 2018

Whilst officials have not met representatives of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to discuss racehorse fatalities during the years stated, I am aware that the BHA work alongside animal welfare organisations, such as the RSPCA, and regularly review the safety of racetracks and where necessary, make improvements. The Government is satisfied that the BHA work to make horseracing as safe as possible. Annual statistics on the numbers of racehorses killed on racetracks are available on the BHA website, here:https://www.britishhorseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Equine-Injuries-and-Fatalities-2017-data-.pdf .

Regarding training fatalities, under BHA rules, all trainers are required to notify deaths of horses to Weatherbys. As part of their work on a new equine database, the BHA are also looking at enhancing the information to be provided in these circumstances.

The Government has been in regular contact with a number of stakeholders about a range of horse welfare issues including those relating to racehorses.

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