June 16, 2009

Do Britons want to pay a £10.50 horse tax?

The British Horse Society is seeking the views of members on the possibility of a horse tax being imposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of a wider livestock strategy for funding the response for tackling animal disease outbreaks.

Defra is currently consulting the wider livestock industry on what it calls a new independent body for animal health - a modern governance and funding structure for tackling animal diseases.

The proposals include:

• A new body for animal health in England, with a chief executive and an independent board including representatives from the livestock industry, which will take on everything that Defra currently does in relation to setting animal health policy except for animal welfare;

• Compulsory registration of livestock keepers and a levy to provide an additional source of funding to contribute initially to dealing with exotic disease outbreaks.

The latter would cover all main species of farmed livestock, but the consultation asks for views whether horses should be included in the new funding arrangements.

If extended to include horses, the proposed levy fee is £10.50 per horse.

The consultation document also raises the possibility of recovering some of the costs of dealing with exotic disease outbreaks through mandatory insurance.

Mark Weston, the society's rirector of access, safety and wefare, said: "The consultation closes at the end of this month. The society is working closely with the British Equestrian Federation and the British Horse Industry Confederation to provide a response to this consultation.

"The society has already received comments regarding the document but is keen to receive any further feedback from members before the consultation closes on 30 June."

The issue of a horse levy has proved controversial in Australia. The Australian government had proposed a levy which could be imposed on horse owners should it ever neeed to recover the cost of fighting future equine disease incursions.

As part of that process, the wider horse industry would need to become a signatory to an agreement covering other Australian livestock groups.

However, legislation which would allow this to happen has been defeated in parliament.

More information: http://www.defra.gov.uk

BLOGS

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