NEWS
Time for Action on Ragwort
The British Horse Society is taking a stand against the poisonous plant ragwort with a nationwide survey to assess the scale of the threat. To read the press release click here.
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Welsh Local Authority Inspectors Learn to Become Horse Whisperers
The trading standards and environmental health inspectors were given hands-on training in how to safely approach a horse, fit a head collar and lead the animal. They were also shown how to assess a horse's health and welfare, and its environment to decide whether there are any welfare concerns.
The training was funded by the Welsh Assembly Government's Companion Animal Welfare Enhancement Scheme (CAWES) and was facilitated by the Welsh Animal Health and Welfare Panel. The one-day courses, which were organised and run equine charities The Horse Trust and Redwings, took place on 19 and 20 May at the Society for Welfare of Horse and Ponies in Monmouth, and on 27 May at the Bransby Home of Rest for Horses in Stoke Prior, Herefordshire.
Huw Jones, Head of the Animal Welfare branch of the Welsh Assembly Government, said: "One of the key outputs from the Welsh Assembly Government's CAWES programme is the provision of education and training. This will help in consistent delivery of high quality welfare provision across Wales."
Paul Jepson, Chief Executive and Veterinary Director of The Horse Trust, praised the Welsh Assembly for its proactive approach on animal welfare.
"Wales is leading the way in animal welfare by giving its local authority inspectors the resources to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. Their proactive approach will improve the welfare of horses across Wales, ensuring that welfare cases are dealt with effectively and minimising the suffering caused to horses. We are delighted to support the Welsh government in this initiative by providing training to their inspectors," said Paul.
The training was carried out by Nicolas De Brauwere, NEWC Chairman and Head of Welfare at Redwings, and Liane Crowther, Welfare and Education Officer at The Horse Trust. Nicolas said he was delighted to be working in partnership with the other equine charities to deliver the training.
"This project is a great example of the horse welfare sector working together in spirit of the National Equine Welfare Protocol. We have drawn on the strength of the individual organisations to provide the training," said Nicolas.
Jenny MacGregor MBE, the Chairman of the Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies, which hosted two of the inspector training courses, said: "This training course is very welcome as we have seen a lot of equine welfare problems in South Wales. It will be great to have the support of local authority inspectors to improve the welfare of horses in this area."
Philip York, General Manager of the Bransby Home of Rest for Horses in Stoke Prior, which hosted one of the training courses, said: "I am delighted to be able to offer our facilities at Stoke Prior to assist in this important initiative, to train local authority inspectors from across Wales. This training will have huge benefits for everyone concerned with equine welfare in Wales."
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EXCITING TIMES AT THE NATIONAL EQUINE WELFARE COUNCIL
The National Equine Welfare Council discussed its plans to move the equine welfare agenda forwards at its Annual General Meeting held at The Horse Trust in April.
The National Equine Welfare Council held its 33rd Annual General Meeting at The Horse Trust in Buckinghamshire on April 22nd, kindly sponsored by South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB). The meeting boasted record levels of attendance with the representatives of 20 organisations being present.
Attendees were treated to fascinating presentations by David Buckton of South Essex Insurance Brokers and Chris House, Senior Vice President of the British Equine Veterinary Association. Among the issues discussed were the hot branding and indiscriminate breeding of horses.
Jackie Crook, Chairman of the Horse Rescue Fund said “Being a member of NEWC offers my charity a chance to really get involved in discussions on key welfare issues with organisations that we might not otherwise be involved with. This year’s AGM was particularly useful thanks to the excellent presentations we were given, the content of which we found very informative and beneficial to all charities.”
Georgina Dale, Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society said "I have been unable to attend several recent AGMs, for various reasons, so it was good to come to the last one and to meet some new faces - as well as the "old" ones! The presentations from SEIB an BEVA were interesting and useful. I would also like to thank you for catering so splendidly for us."
Sally Howard, Bransby Home of Rest for Horses said "A well attended, informative meeting which allowed the opportunity to put faces to 'names' from formal correspondence . Several informative talks were given relating to current Equine Welfare issues in the UK with opportunity for debate and discussion, allowing organisations both large and small to participate and share experiences."
NEWC Chairman Nic De Brauwere said “Now is an exciting time at the National Equine Welfare Council. We are working hard to increase the benefits of membership and to encourage charities, colleges and commercial organisations to join us. The greater our membership the more we can achieve for horse welfare”.
For more information please contact the NEWC office on 01926 866655 or email info@newc.co.uk
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MANAGEMENT BOARD TEAM - Update
In 2009 NEWC announced that Nicolas De Brauwere, senior vet and Head of Welfare, Rehabilitation and Education at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, took the reins as Chairman of the Management Board, while Rebecca Evans, Equine Welfare & Grants Manager, from The Horse Trust was appointed Vice Chairman. We are now pleased to welcome Dr Mark Kennedy, BSc (Hons) Zoology (University of Glasgow), PhD (University of Cambridge), who was co-opted onto the current NEWC Management Board at our AGM in April 2010. We are also pleased to announce that Iain Graham, member of the NEWC Management Board, is appointed as the new Chief Executive, British Showjumping as of the 1st May 2010. Find out more about our Management Board here.
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THE DONKEY SANCTUARY
NEWC's member, The Donkey Sanctuary, is holding a summer Tour 'From Foal to Forty' starting on 7th April in Devon and finishing on 14th October in Manchester. The day is free of charge and anyone interested in attending should book a place now as numbers are limited for this very popular event. Please click here for further details.
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WORLD HORSE WELFARE
Europe says no the needless abuse of horses.Click here for further details.
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NEWC'S ONGOING WORK
COMPENDIUM
To date almost 8000 copies of the Equine Welfare Guidelines Compendium have been distributed including distribution to Vet Clinics, County Councils, Universities and Colleges, Veterinary schools, Solicitors, Breed Societies and many other individuals working with equines and of course the general public.
Five Veterinary Schools have agreed to distribute the Compendium to their undergraduate students as core welfare material, including the Liverpool University Vet School where the distinguished Dr Derek Knottenbelt made this comment
“When we issued the Compendium to our students, I could see they weren’t THAT thrilled to have yet another ‘thing to read’, but within hours they were discussing, commenting and thinking about the issues it raises. They and I believe it is essential reading for undergraduates and it is a constant reference source for qualified vets also!”
The equine colleges have shown similar enthusiasm.
ANIMAL WELFARE NETWORK- WALES
Rebecca Evans and Nicolas de Brauwere attend a further meeting in Cardiff of the AWNW working group that is exploring the possible ways in which animal welfare can be better protected when animals are taken in to what would commonly be considered a Sanctuary. Expert opinion was obtained from Mike Radford of Aberdeen University. The group explored possible ways in which a regulatory system could work that would protect animal welfare without suffocating the very valuable work done by organisations large and small across Wales when vulnerable animals are taken into care. Possible ways of accurately defining sanctuaries was a key aspect of this meeting as was the possible systems that could be used that would have a workable and enforceable system that wouldn’t be too costly to run or comply with.
The group will shortly announce a series of dates and venues where members of the AWNW (free to join if you meet their criteria – see: http://www.awnwales.org ) and others who have an interest in the issue, can come and give their views on the merits, challenges and other relevant aspects of any possible regulatory scheme. These ‘evidence gathering’ sessions will complement any written submissions that can be made to the group in the coming months. A series of questions will be drafted to determine people’s views on the issue. It is vital that NEWC members participate in this process since we cannot assume that everyone supports the proposals or the form they could take. NEWC is represented on the working group itself but we are keen that our individual members make their views known. NEWC is very keen that equine sanctuaries are all run to a standard that ensures full compliance with the Animal Welfare Acts, if not beyond. However, in a world with ever more burdensome regulation it is important that we understand people’s thoughts on what is appropriate whilst at the same time ensuring equine sanctuaries do not let their charges down. More on the subject as the group’s work continues…..
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NEWC’S STATEMENT ON EQUINE INFECTIOUS ANAEMIA
Click here for more information.
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NEWC LAUNCH 3RD EDITION OF EQUINE INDUSTRY WELFARE GUIDELINES COMPENDIUM 2009
To read the Press Release click here.
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NEWC’S RESPONSE TO GROWING CONCERNS FOR EQUINE WELFARE
‘Responsible Re-homing’ and ‘Cutting Cost without Compromising on Welfare’ are two leaflets that have been produced by NEWC in response to the high number of requests for help that our members are receiving from horse owners struggling financially across the UK. The leaflets have been produced as a result of collaboration between members of the National Equine Welfare Council.
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BHIC'S RESPONSE TO DEFRA'S PROPOSED LEVY ON HORSE OWNERS
Press Release: proposals for Responsibility and Cost Sharing
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NATIONAL EQUINE WELFARE PROTOCOL - September 2008
Following the large equine welfare case centred on Amersham the Princess Royal called together a meeting of the main organisations involved to see what improvements could be made to the handling of equine welfare problems in this country. The review was chaired by Major General Robert Gordon CMG, CBE and produced the National Equine Welfare Protocol on how welfare problems could be better handled in the future. Most of the leading welfare charities are signatories to the Protocol, as are the police and government, and they have agreed to work more closely together in the future. But, as always, it is easier to agree what needs to be done, than to actually arrange to do it. Read More >>_________________________________________________________
National Equine Welfare Protocol launched by HRH The Princess Royal. Click here to read the Press Release. Click here to download a copy of The Protocol
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Defra/AHT/BEVA equine quarterly disease surveillance report.
The report covering the period January - March 2008 is now available. To view all reports or to receive information direct, please click here.
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NEWC member Bransby Home of Rest for Horses awarded the Lexington Insurance Voluntary Service Award at the Animal Health Trust Equestrian Awards for their excellent services in providing horses, ponies, donkeys and mules with a safe, permanent refuge. The award was accepted by Peter Hunt, Honorary Secretary and founder of Bransby.Bransby Home of Rest for Horses - Homepage
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NEWC Vice President, Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, receives British Equine Veterinary Association Equine Welfare Award sponsored by Blue Cross which was presented at the BEVA Annual Congress 2007.
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Animal Welfare Delivery Strategy (AWDS) for England. The AWDS builds on the principles set out in the 2004 Great Britain Animal Health and Welfare Strategy and is consistent with the new Animal Welfare Act. The strategy has been developed with the help of external advisers and responds to requests from animal interest groups for more detailed information on the Government's priorities in this area.
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Emergency Services Protocol NEWC members work together. BHS, BEVA, RSPCA, The Horse Trust and ILPH have worked together with Chief Fire Officers Association and Association of Chief Police Officers on the protocol which will be delivered later this month to the police and fire and rescue services.
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Animal Welfare Act
Information on the following subjects can be found on the Defra website - Information for Local Authorities; Who enforces the Act?; Statement of Intent; Secondary legislation, including licensing regimes; Enforcement powers under the Act; Additional questions and links.
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Extension of the Act to the Highland Region and Islands of Scotland
With effect from 30 March 2007 all those practising farriery in Scotland will need to be registered with the Farriers Registration Council (FRC). For more details please click here
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The Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 2006.
From 5 January 2007, a new Regulation on the protection of animals during transport applies across the European Union (EU). For details of the implications for people transporting horses please click here
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The latest Defra/AHT/BEVA Equine Quarterly Disease Surveillance Report covering the period July to September 2006 has just been uploaded onto the Animal Health Trust website. To view this report , please click here
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Animal Welfare Act
The Animal Welfare Bill received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006 and is now officially the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
It will come into effect on 1 April 2007 in England, as far as we are aware, and at the same time or a little later in Wales.
Equine welfare organisations welcome this legislation which contains a 'Duty of Care' for all animal owners.
The key elements of the Act can be found on our current issues page
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Industry Workshops on the Welfare of Animals during Transport regulations
On behalf of Defra's Animal Welfare Division, ADAS is running the above advisory campaign for livestock hauliers, veterinary surgeons and the allied industries by holding a series of workshops nationwide. Click here for more information
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Site last updated: 25th August 2010
