12.10.09 - Paying Through the Nose: Should Horse Owners Fund the Control of Animal Disease?

From the Equine Science and Welfare Blog at the British Horseracing Authority

From Professor Tim Morris, BHA Director of Equine Science and Welfare

We all remember the devastation caused by foot and mouth earlier this decade; the loss of livelihoods, the animal health and welfare implications, and how the countryside was closed down.

This, and other animal disease outbreaks across Europe, led the European Commission and the UK Government to think long and hard on how such disease outbreaks are prevented and managed. Out of all this came the European Commission and UK Government proposals on Responsibility and Cost Sharing (RCS).

So why is RCS suggested in the UK? The ‘glass half full’ answer is to set up the status quo so that animal keepers do their bit (e.g. biosecurity) to prevent disease (the responsibility bit), and that taxpayers cannot be expected to give an open chequebook to farmers (the cost sharing bit).

The ‘glass half empty’ answer is that animal keepers have little control over exotic disease (the last foot and mouth outbreak originated from a leak from a government licenced lab) and that costs are simply being dumped out of government onto animal keepers. The truth, as it does in many things, probably lies between these extremes.

Does RCS affect horses? Yes, because in Europes horses are considered agricultural animals (although not in UK) and the horse sector, with strong leadership from racing, has been asking that horse diseases receive more attention from Defra. Let’s not forget that animal disease remains one of the greatest threats to horseracing.

What are the UK Government proposals? Defra has proposed plans to create a new public body, separate from Defra, charged with managing animal health in the UK and sharing the cost of preventing and dealing with outbreaks of animal disease by charging a levy per animal (its £10.50 per horse per year) to animal keepers.

Why the proposals are not the answer:

It will cost £14.3 million to set up and millions more to run;
Forces horse owners to contribute a 20% share of all these costs;
Ignores the fact that whilst the livestock industry receives over £1 billion per year in public funding, the horse sector receives no comparable subsidy;
Does not take into account the fact that the horseracing industry already contributes around £750,000 per year to via the HBLB levy central funding aimed at preventing and controlling infectious diseases;
Hits small horse owners hardest – around 65% of all UK horse owners have just one horse, with a further 15% owning just two
Forces a separation of Government policy on animal health and animal welfare – when equine veterinarians have been very clear that these two are inextricably linked.

So if you are a horse owner, trainer or breeder and you agree, write to your MP and sign a petition against these proposals; put bluntly spend 10 minutes now or pay £10/year.

And finally, let’s remember that horse owners and racing are not saying no to responsibility and cost sharing, as we already do it and could be said to be an example to others. RCS has to have some benefit for horses and their owners to be acceptable, and racing is at the centre of those discussions.

The horse sector has come up with proposals to extend the role of insurance and reduce administrative costs. It does want to take responsibility and share our costs, and it does want to be constructive in making this happen.

Visit www.rethinkthehorsetax.org for more information about the proposals and what you can do to combat them

View this blog on the BHA website: http://tinyurl.com/yztrela

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This Latest News article was created on 12th October 2009

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