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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Animal Plant and Health Agency have made of the effectiveness of the measures taken by the British Horseracing Authority in countering and containing the ongoing outbreak of equine influenza in the UK.

Equine influenza is not a notifiable disease in the UK, which means that the industry takes responsibility for controlling the disease.

Vaccination is the main control measure, alongside isolation of infected cases and minimising the mixing of horses during an outbreak.

The Government has been monitoring the situation and maintaining close contact with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and the British Horse Council. We commend the BHA and other equine industry bodies for their swift action and for advising against unvaccinated animals being allowed to attend large gatherings.