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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce a national education programme into equine welfare.

My Department currently has no plans to introduce a government programme in this area. The governments statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids provides owners and keepers with welfare information concerning equines. The Code of Practice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids

In addition, the equine welfare sector promotes good welfare practice through their respective websites and via social media. Advice from the British Horse Society is available at https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/tethering/.