Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
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.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times (1) ministers, and (2) officials, from the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have met representatives of the gambling reform groups or survivors of gambling harm (a) in person, and (b) through video call, since June 2020; and what was the nature of those discussions.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with the industry and other gambling stakeholders to support ongoing work and policy development. There has also been a wide-ranging series of meetings to support the ongoing Gambling Act Review which was launched in December 2020 with a Call for Evidence.
Records of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk. The meetings with the gambling industry and its representatives have covered a very wide range of issues, for instance the impact of Covid-19 closures on the land-based industry and the measures the Government was taking to support the economy, measures the industry is taking to make gambling safer, and industry evidence on the Act Review. A number of these have also been introductory meetings with new Ministers.
Officials in the gambling policy team have had around sixty meetings with industry in that period covering the above topics, particularly the impact of Covid-19, and also other areas such as animal welfare in horse and greyhound racing, the implications of Brexit and supply chain disruption, and delivery of previous commitments made by industry, such as the £100m to support treatment over four years.
Ministers have met a wide range of non-industry gambling stakeholders over the same period. This has included six meetings with gambling harm campaign groups or people with personal experience of gambling harm (including roundtables with many individuals or organisations present), thirteen meetings with parliamentarians campaigning for reform, and three meetings with gambling researchers and education and treatment providers. We do not have a record of which meetings were conducted remotely or in person.
Officials in the gambling policy team have had over one hundred further meetings with non-industry gambling related stakeholders since June 2020. This has included eleven with campaign groups or people with personal experience, thirty three with those working primarily on gambling research, seven with those primarily related to gambling harm education, seventeen with treatment providers for gambling related harm, and three meetings with think-tanks. Many of these meetings were in connection with the Gambling Act Review, discussing individuals’ or groups' priorities and the evidence they presented.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times (1) ministers, and (2) officials, from the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have met representatives of the gambling industry since June 2020; and what was the nature of those discussions.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with the industry and other gambling stakeholders to support ongoing work and policy development. There has also been a wide-ranging series of meetings to support the ongoing Gambling Act Review which was launched in December 2020 with a Call for Evidence.
Records of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk. The meetings with the gambling industry and its representatives have covered a very wide range of issues, for instance the impact of Covid-19 closures on the land-based industry and the measures the Government was taking to support the economy, measures the industry is taking to make gambling safer, and industry evidence on the Act Review. A number of these have also been introductory meetings with new Ministers.
Officials in the gambling policy team have had around sixty meetings with industry in that period covering the above topics, particularly the impact of Covid-19, and also other areas such as animal welfare in horse and greyhound racing, the implications of Brexit and supply chain disruption, and delivery of previous commitments made by industry, such as the £100m to support treatment over four years.
Ministers have met a wide range of non-industry gambling stakeholders over the same period. This has included six meetings with gambling harm campaign groups or people with personal experience of gambling harm (including roundtables with many individuals or organisations present), thirteen meetings with parliamentarians campaigning for reform, and three meetings with gambling researchers and education and treatment providers. We do not have a record of which meetings were conducted remotely or in person.
Officials in the gambling policy team have had over one hundred further meetings with non-industry gambling related stakeholders since June 2020. This has included eleven with campaign groups or people with personal experience, thirty three with those working primarily on gambling research, seven with those primarily related to gambling harm education, seventeen with treatment providers for gambling related harm, and three meetings with think-tanks. Many of these meetings were in connection with the Gambling Act Review, discussing individuals’ or groups' priorities and the evidence they presented.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the evidence presented in the BBC Panorama documentary, entitled The Dark Side of Horse Racing, broadcast on 24 July 2021, that some horses are travelling from Ireland to Great Britain to be slaughtered, whether his Department has plans to review its policy and legislation on the distance travelled by horses for slaughter in response to that evidence; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government is committed to the highest standards of animal welfare during transport.
We consulted earlier this year on a wide range of proposals to improve how animals are transported in England and Wales, including reduced journey times for horses. In August we published a joint response, with the Welsh Government, to the consultation[1] outlining how we will be taking reforms forward.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the evidence on animal welfare standards at some horse abattoirs presented in the BBC Panorama documentary entitled The Dark Side of Horse Racing, broadcast on 24 July 2021; and whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update protections for racehorses and former racehorses in response to that evidence.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
The Government is committed to the highest standards of animal welfare, including at slaughter.
Provided the animal is fit to transport and the journey time is not excessive, slaughter in an approved abattoir is a humane option for some horses, especially if the owner cannot afford euthanasia by a vet.
Legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of horses when slaughtered and official veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency are present in all approved slaughterhouses to monitor and enforce animal welfare requirements.
Following a recent review of the welfare of animals at the time of killing legislation, published on 27 January 2021, and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are carefully considering a wide range of welfare at slaughter improvements that could be made and will consult in due course.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of animal welfare standards in (a) horseracing and (b) greyhound racing.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
Ensuring the welfare needs of racehorses and racing greyhounds are met, both during their racing lives and afterwards, is a priority. In our recently published Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we have committed to ensuring that the horse racing sector addresses key animal welfare issues such as fatality levels. We also committed to considering further protections for racing greyhounds including further steps to raise welfare standards at trainers’ kennels. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-plan-for-animal-welfare
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) places a legal duty of care on owners and keepers for the animals for which they are responsible on a permanent or temporary basis. It is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where animals are raced as well as where they are kept. The 2006 Act is also backed up a statutory code of practice for both dogs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-dogs and horses: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids
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 Horse Welfare Board’s five-year Horse Welfare Strategy (HWS) “a life well-lived” was published on 20 February 2020. The HWS contains 20 recommendations for improving the welfare of horses bred for racing. The HWS recommends that, as a minimum, the penalties for misuse of the whip need to increase and that the BHA should conduct a consultation on the use of the whip. This consultation ran until 6 September 2021.
The welfare of racing greyhounds at all greyhound racing tracks in England is regulated by the Welfare of Racing Greyhound Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations). The 2010 Regulations were reviewed in 2016, both by Defra and the House of Commons' Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The review found that, judged against their original objectives, the regulations have been broadly effective. The review also identified areas where the industry themselves should be taking further action and Defra have been working closely with the main industry regulatory body, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), to ensure these actions are taken. This includes the annual publication of injury, euthanasia and retirement statistics, and addressing welfare issues at GBGB affiliated trainers’ kennels.
I would encourage anyone with evidence that a racehorse or racing greyhound has suffered unnecessarily to get in touch with either the BHA or the GBGB and share their concerns. In the most severe cases of misuse, an individual may be investigated under the 2006 Act, as well as receiving significant sanctions from the sport.