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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the recommendations in the Horse Welfare Board's five year horse welfare strategy on the use of the whip in horse racing.

The Horse Welfare Board’s (HWB) five-year Horse Welfare Strategy (HWS) “a life well-lived” was published on 20 February 2020. The HWS contains 20 recommendations for improving horse welfare. The HWS recommends that, as a minimum, the penalties for misuse of the whip need to increase and that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) should conduct a consultation on the use of the whip this year. As well as seeking views on appropriate sanctions for misuse of the whip, the HWS also recommends that the BHA uses the consultation to consider whether the use of the whip for encouragement should be banned or retained and whether the rules that restrict the use of the whip for encouragement need to be changed. Defra welcomes the publication of the HWS and officials will remain engaged with the BHA and the HWB on the progress being made.