BHS welcomes proposed reforms to Animals Act

BHS welcomes proposed reforms to Animals Act The British Horse Society welcomes the Government's consultation paper proposing reforms to the Animals Act 1971 for which the Society has been lobbying. In a landmark ruling, the House of Lords ruled in Mirvahedy v Henley (2003), that, under the 1971 Act, strict liability applied to all animal owners, even the owners of a perfectly normal animal that causes injury just by behaving in a way typical of its species.  A consequence is that horse owners face potentially huge compensation claims.

Graham Cory, British Horse Society, Chief Executive said: "The Society has been campaigning for years for an amendment to the provisions of the Animals Act 1971, so that a horse owner would not be held liable for their horse's behaviour when they had done everything reasonably possible to prevent an accident."

In 2003 the BHS took the initiative and argued to Defra that the law was in urgent need of amendment, but ministers were not persuaded of the need for urgent action.  At the time of the BHS's approach to ministers, Graham Cory was the Defra senior civil servant advising ministers on equine matters.  He is convinced that the lack of support from other sectors of the industry suggested that the BHS was a lone voice.

The BHS subsequently supported Laurence Robertson MP's Ten Minute Rule Bill to amend the Act.  When that proved unsuccessful, the BHS welcomed the CLA and NFU into the fray, working together to support Stephen Crabb MP's Private Member's Bill.

Although that Bill, too, was unsuccessful, Defra accepted the argument that the Act needed amending.  The BHS has assured Defra that it will work with Government to ensure that the appropriate reforms can be implemented successfully.

Email this article to a friend or share

---

Voices for Horses offers news, articles and videos from third party providers unless otherwise stated. We do not endorse the views expressed or content and make it available to you only as a service. All news items, articles and videos are copyright of the authors, film makers and original publications.

<< Back to News & Articles Archive