Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to direct the Horse Race Betting Levy Board to increase the proportion of the levy for aftercare provision for vulnerable horses leaving the racing industry.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)

The Government is aware of the vital work the horseracing industry does in supporting and retraining former racehorses. However, we have no current plans to direct the Levy Board to make amends to levy schemes.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board’s expenditure covers all its three statutory purposes, all of which support horse welfare to some extent, with one of their goals to drive high quality care and support for the horse in Racing. In total, the Horserace Betting Levy Board spends around £3.5 million annually on horse-related areas, such as educational research and on a number of horse welfare projects. The Levy Board funds the Retraining of Racehorses charity, which is British Horseracing's official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of horses at races in Britain and works with animal welfare organisations like the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to keep racecourses as safe as possible for horses. The British Horseracing Authority created a cross-industry Horse Welfare Board in April 2019. The Board makes recommendations including a multi-year strategy for improving welfare. In February 2020, the Welfare Board published its five-year strategic plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing. The strategy focuses on the ambition that every horse bred to race should lead – and be seen to lead – “a life well-lived”. The Horse Welfare Board is funded by the HBLB and The Racing Foundation.

Furthermore, in April 2024 the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Great British Racing (GBR) launched a new campaign, HorsePWR, designed to promote the facts around welfare in horseracing and challenge and correct inaccurate information shared by people who are opposed to it.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to increase the (a) safety and (b) welfare of professional racing horses.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is British racing's governing and regulatory body and is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses. The BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible. Officials from Defra engage with these organisations on such matters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is taking steps to (a) increase regulation and (b) ensure the (i) safety and (ii) welfare of professional racing horses.

Answered by Scott Mann

HM Government shares the public's high regard for animal welfare, and we are committed to making the United Kingdom a world leader in the protection of animals. The welfare needs of racehorses, both during their racing lives and afterwards, should be a priority for all involved in the horseracing sector.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), British racing's governing and regulatory body, is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses. The BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.

We encourage anyone with evidence that a racehorse has suffered unnecessarily to get in touch with the BHA and share their concerns. In the most severe cases of misuse, an individual may be investigated under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, as well as receiving significant sanctions from the sport.

HM Government welcomed the creation of the racing industry's Horse Welfare Board (HWB), which was formed in March 2019. The Board includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare experts. The HWB set out a strategic plan to improve the welfare of horses before, during and after their racing careers in its 2020 publication, A Life Well Lived. You can find the publication here: https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/a-life-well-lived-british-racings-horse-welfare-board-publishes-five-year-welfare-strategy/

My department will continue to meet with the BHA and the HWB to discuss progress on implementing recommendations from the strategy, including the recommendations from the Whip Consultation Report. We will continue to engage with the sector to ensure that the welfare of racehorses remain at the forefront of the BHA's priorities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban the practice of using the whip in horse racing.

Answered by Steve Double

The irresponsible use of the whip is unacceptable. The British Horseracing Association (BHA), British racing’s governing and regulatory body, is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses including rules governing the use of the whip.

The BHA recently published their response to a public consultation on the use of the whip in British racing in July 2022. The BHA accepted 20 recommendations made to them by the Whip Steering Group which can be found here: https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/improving-standards-and-enhanced-deterrents-at-the-heart-of-20-recommendations-published-as-part-of-british-horseracings-whip-report/

Defra will continue to engage with the sector to ensure that the welfare of racehorses remains at the forefront of the British horseracing industry’s priorities.

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the horse racing sector to address animal welfare issues, including fatality levels.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare, including the welfare of racehorses. Ensuring the welfare needs of racehorses are well met throughout their entire life, is a priority. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), British racing’s governing and regulatory body, is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses. The BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.

The racing industry’s independent Horse Welfare Board (HWB) was formed in 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare experts. We have welcomed their recent publications, including “A Life Well Lived” (copy attached to this answer) which sets out a strategic plan to improve the welfare of horses before, during and after their racing career. The strategy contains 20 recommendations and 26 specific projects for the industry aimed at ensuring the best possible safety and quality of life for racehorses.  The Board has subsequently produced “Euthanasis Guidelines" and published an “Aftercare Funding Review” which recommends a strategic approach to aftercare in Britain, applicable to any horse bred for racing. The public consultation on the use of the whip opened on 1 July 2021 and closed on 6 September 2021. The BHA published a “Whip Consultation Update" in January 2022 and we look forward to seeing the results of the consultation and the BHA’s recommendations.

One of the plan’s five identified outcomes (outcome 3 - 'Best possible safety') aims to reduce and minimise, as far as reasonably possible, avoidable injuries and fatalities to racehorses. This targets a reduction in injuries and fatalities on racecourses but also those that occur in, or as a result of, training or pre-training methods, or which are linked to breeding. The HWB has underlined the importance of data to better understand the causes of injuries and fatalities to help achieve this outcome. A number of projects and initiatives have been identified, at varying stages of development, aimed at capturing more information that could identify actions which would reduce the risk of racehorse injuries and fatalities.

Defra Ministers and officials will continue to engage with the sector to ensure that the welfare of racehorses and reducing the fatalities and injuries that result from racing, remain at the forefront of the BHA’s priorities in delivering the plan’s outcomes.  We will be monitoring closely how the industry responds to the Board’s recommendations so that the welfare needs of racehorses are met both during and after their racing lives.