Horse racing got a walk-on part in the Liberal Democrat manifesto, published on Wednesday, in the form of a pledge to “establish an independent regulatory body for horse welfare to prevent the abuse and avoidable deaths of racehorses”. The policy, which was passed at the party’s 2018 conference, “would not help” advance horse welfare in racing, according to the British Horseracing Authority, which currently has responsibility in this area.
A BHA spokesman, responding to the manifesto, said that racing “has a clear track record in delivering improved welfare outcomes for our horses. British racing’s evidence-based approach has already significantly reduced avoidable risk – an approach endorsed by Defra – and we have a clear ambition to reduce this further through our investment in a predictive risk model.”
He also pointed to the BHA’s creation this year of a Horse Welfare Board, chaired by Barry Johnson, a former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and with the Conservative former sports minister Tracey Crouch among its members. The board, he said, is “developing a comprehensive welfare strategy to further raise welfare standards across the sport and lifetime of the racehorse”.
The wording of the Lib Dem pledge is strikingly similar to an Animal Aid petition which garnered more than 100,000 signatures last year and triggered a parliamentary debate. Animal Aid, an animal rights organisation that would like to see an end to horse racing, said it regards it as “a landmark achievement” that a major political party is now “committed to shaking up a complacent racing industry”.
But Roly Owers of World Horse Welfare said the creation of the Horse Welfare Board meant that the Lib Dem policy “has been overtaken by events. We would fully support that board and it would be foolhardy to look at establishing something else until the success or otherwise of the board has been determined. Its creation was a very positive step and we await with interest the publication of its strategy, expected in January. We believe it should be given a chance to perform.”
A similar response came from the RSPCA, whose racing consultant, David Muir, said: “I would like to see how the board gets on before saying anything about a new system. I’m happy that they will do what’s expected of them.”
The Conservative party is not expected to have anything to say on the subject of racing in its manifesto, but Labour is expected to promise a review of the use of the whip. This was mentioned in its Animal Welfare Manifesto, published in August. The BHA published a lengthy response at the time, aimed at offering reassurance that use of the whip is properly controlled and misuse is punished.
The Guardian has offered the three main parties a chance to comment. Any replies will be added to this piece.
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