UK government supports the BHA

The British Horseracing Authority has received support from the British government.

UK.- After a petition was signed by 105,000 people asking the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to transfer responsibility of racehorse welfare, the government has publicly backed the racing body and rejected the possibility of having new authorities.

David Rutley, Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, showed the support for the BHA and said: “We must do all that we can to reduce the fatalities whilst racing on the track. With the work they have done to further reduce the number of fatalities at racetracks the government does not see a need to take a different approach by creating a new body.

“That does not mean that the BHA should not continue to be held to account and they should of course have to continue to explain what they do in an open and transparent way,” he added.

BHA chief executive Nick Rust commented: “We are pleased that government has today reaffirmed its support for the BHA as racing’s independent regulator for equine welfare. Our track record of working responsibly to make racing safer for our horses – and our constructive relationship with welfare groups such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare – was fully acknowledged.

“All those who spoke were united with us in a desire to see further improvements. We share the ambitions expressed by MPs from all parties to make racing even safer. We encourage all those working in our sport to improve welfare standards to read carefully the contributions to the debate as we develop more ambitious plans for the future.”