Existing laws are not enough to beat fly grazing

Around 3,400 horses are currently being fly grazed in England - the practice of leaving horses on someone else’s land without permission - welfare charities say, including hundreds across Yorkshire.

Under the current law, landowners are powerless to remove horses from their land quickly and effectively and it is often impossible to link irresponsible owners to their animals.

The authors of the ‘Stop the Scourge’ report say the closure of the UK’s national database of horses in 2012 impeded the effective enforcement of equine identification legislation.

Their report comes on the eve of a Parliamentary committee discussion on fly-grazing, while a Commons debate on a proposed change in the law is scheduled for October, when MP Julian Sturdy’s Control of Horses Bill will have its second reading.

Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare, speaking on behalf of the rural organisations and welfare charities involved in the report, said: “It is time for Government to do its part to help stop the scourge of fly-grazing in our countryside, farms and urban areas, because we cannot solve this problem alone using existing laws.”

Calls to animal welfare charities reporting fly grazing incidents have risen by two thirds in three years, the report says. From people in Yorkshire alone, the RSPCA received 3,360 reports involving 9,689 equines in 2013.

York Outer MP Mr Sturdy added: “From today’s report it is clear that the number of horses being abandoned has grown steadily worse across the country in recent years. The need to act is now more pressing than ever before and I will be sponsoring legislation to help local authorities and farmers tackle the problem head on.”