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 effectiveness of the Horse Welfare Board in improving the standards of welfare in horseracing.

The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. On 14 May, I met the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This Board was formed in March 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare specialists. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer.

The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes and is working on producing an equine welfare manifesto, outlining the industry’s priorities in this area. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results, and will continue to stay in regular contact with both the BHA and the newly appointed Horse Welfare Board to monitor progress of key actions and to press for further improvements in racehorse welfare.