Talking Horses: BHA denies the whip compromises horses' welfare

The governing body issues a detailed response to this week’s Labour Party ‘animal welfare manifesto’The British Horseracing Authority has made clear its concern that use of the whip for encouragement could be banned by a future government, issuing a swift response on Wednesday to a Labour Party “animal welfare manifesto” published 24 hours earlier which called for an “independent review” to establish if whipping for encouragement can be “justified”. In a detailed response, the BHA emphasises its belief that “with the appropriate design and strict controls in place, the whip does not compromise the welfare of horses during races”. It also states that only one horse has been marked by the whip or “wealed” in the last two seasons, and none at all in 2017, from a total of 225,000 runners in that time. Britain’s whip rules allow jockeys to use the whip a maximum of seven times in a race on the Flat and eight times over jumps. The maximum permitted level of use is the same in Ireland, while in France, the limit has recently been reduced to just five strokes. Related: Ladbrokes knew of problem with ‘cancelled’ bets, says former employee Continue reading…
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