UK Government urged to follow
Wales in fight against fly grazing
Solution to horse problem needed now
Xx July 2013
Six leading horse charities are welcoming plans by the Welsh Government to introduce
legislation to tackle fly grazing of the horses and ponies in Wales and are urgently asking
the UK Government to follow suit in England to help stem the horse crisis escalating
across the country.
As 7,000 horses are at risk of needing rescue in England and Wales, Redwings, the RSPCA,
World Horse Welfare, The British Horse Society, Blue Cross and HorseWorld have released a
series of devastating case studies to illustrate how current laws permit horses to suffer
needlessly including:

Horses allowed to stray on railway lines in Bristol, possibly in an attempt by their owner
to get rid of their injured animals

A foal left to drown in a river in Essex

A mare abandoned on an industrial estate near Newcastle

A stretch of land in Kent with more than 100 horses running feral – one mare with a
broken pelvis lay for days with her dead foal when left to give birth alone

Six horses left to starve in Blackpool
The plans by the Welsh Government were announced last week (17 July). However the UK
government has no such plans in England at a time when thousands of horses are at risk of
suffering and death and landowners and local authorities struggle to cope with the problem.
Alun Davies AM, Minister for Natural Resources and Food, will announce plans including new
legislative solutions in Wales to tackle the problem, which stems from difficulty in identifying
horse owners and irresponsible ownership, in the early autumn.
The charities echo his disappointment that the UK Government decided to shut down the
National Equine Database, which can help to make owners accountable.
The announcement comes at a time when equine problems in the UK are at crisis point. The
situation was highlighted recently with the case of horse trader Tom Price who was found guilty
of 57 animal welfare and cruelty charges and is thought to own 2,500 horses across Wales and
England.
RSPCA Head of Public Affairs, David Bowles, said: “We welcome the Welsh Government’s
plans to tackle this long-standing problem and hope the legislation will be strong and effective if
the current situation is to be reversed.
“This problem does not just affect Wales, however – we need action and a solution across
England as well as Wales.”
Chairman of the National Equine Welfare Council and Head of Welfare at Redwings Nic De
Brauwere said: “The six major horse welfare charities recently released a report backed by the
National Equine Welfare Council showing that charities are all working at capacity, with many
thousands of abused or abandoned horses in our care and we are working with hundreds more
that need our help but we have nowhere for them to go.”
World Horse Welfare Chief Executive Roly Owers said: “What we need is better legislation and
enforcement to hold irresponsible owners to account and more support for local authorities to
deal with the numbers of horses left to breed, graze, suffer and often die on other people’s
land. If Wales takes action and the rest of the UK does not, the problem will simply move over
the border. We need a joined-up approach.”
While charities struggle with the unprecedented numbers of horses and ponies needing help
they are urging members of the public who can offer horses a good home to a horse from a
charity to give them a second chance at life and make space for others who need help.
We are also asking people concerned about the issue of fly grazing and abandoned horses to
contact their MPs asking them to reinstate the National Equine Database and follow the Welsh
Government’s lead in exploring all legislative options.
-endsNotes to editors
Case studies and photographs are available from:
HorseWorld – Stephen Poole 01275 893012/ 07787 123 660
stephen.poole@horseworld.org.uk or Amy Williams 01275
893034 amy.williams@horseworld.org.uk
World Horse Welfare – Amy Fordham amyfordham@worldhorsewelfare.org 01953 497248/
07824 302640 Jessica Stark jessicastark@worldhorsewelfare.org 07900 994002
Blue Cross – Press office 0300 777 1950 press@bluecross.org.uk
Redwings – Nicola Markwell nmarkwell@redwings.co.uk 01508 481014/ 07920 291333 or Amy
Claridge amy@precursor.co.uk 01522 698698
British Horse Society – Alison Coleman alison.coleman@bhs.org.uk 02476 840463
RSPCA – sophie.wilkinson@rspca.org.uk 07834 677649
You can also find out more about rehoming a horse at:
http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/horses/rehoming
http://www.redwings.org.uk/rehoming/
http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/rehoming/
http://www.horseworld.org.uk/rehome_a_horse/
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2584/adopt-a-horse-or-pony.html
Contacts
Press office direct lines:
0300 123 0244/0288
E-mail:
press@rspca.org.uk
www.rspca.org.uk/media
t: @rspca_official
f: facebook.com/rspca
Duty press officer
(evenings and
weekends)
Tel 08448 222888
and ask for pager
number 828825
Southwater, Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS
Tel 0300 1234 0048
Please note the charities always try to find the right homes for their horses and your application
will be assessed for suitability.
Contacts
Press office direct lines:
0300 123 0244/0288
E-mail:
press@rspca.org.uk
www.rspca.org.uk/media
t: @rspca_official
f: facebook.com/rspca
Duty press officer
(evenings and
weekends)
Tel 08448 222888
and ask for pager
number 828825
Southwater, Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS
Tel 0300 1234 0048