EHJ February 2005, pages 15-16

Under the proposed animal welfare bill, owners of livery yards will require a licence to operate. EHO and riding expert Karen Sinclair-Williams explains what this will mean for local authorities

Animal welfare arouses great passion among large sections of the British public. Not surprisingly then, the draft animal welfare bill, published in July 2004, has stimulated intense debate, in large part because its proposals have major implications in terms of licensing and enforcement and for improvements in animal welfare. This is especially the case for livery yards (defined as a business that looks after horses and ponies on behalf of their owners).

As the present law stands, anyone can open a livery yard regardless of the suitability of their premises or their knowledge and experience of working with horses and ponies. What the animal welfare bill sets out to do is close the loophole which currently exists in which horse riding establishments and boarding establishments for cats/dogs require a licence but livery yards do not. The licence requirement, however, will affect a number of interested parties, most notably local authorities.

IMPACT ON LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Licensing throws up several challenges for local authorities. First, they will need to ensure they are adequately prepared both to promote and enforce the licensing system among livery yard owners. Second, they will need to ensure their EHPs are trained to carry out effective enforcement.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates about 10,000 livery yards in England and Wales, although it acknowledges this could be an underestimate. Against this background, the licensing requirement will obviously have a major impact on staff workloads, particularly in some semi rural and rural authorities. Local authorities, particularly in these areas, will need to consider the costs associated with publicising the law and ensure that livery yard owners are aware of their obligations. As the licence fee is likely to fall short of the basic administration costs, this additional burden should also be considered.

Licensing poses significant challenges in terms of local authority staff experience and training requirements. Some authorities already employ animal welfare specialists but many are unlikely to have specialist knowledge regarding horses. Some authorities will expect one officer to undertake both licensing and health and safety inspections while others will have specialists in both areas. In any event, there will be a significant training requirement and a need to ensure consistency between authorities. With this in mind, Defra is proposing to implement a national database of local authority specialists to encourage cross boundary working.

During the bill's consultation process, there was an extensive discussion around the involvement of veterinary officers. Vets specialising in horse welfare are currently party to issuing licences for riding establishments. But the extent, if any, of their role in livery yard inspections is yet to be finalised. One significant factor, which should not be underestimated, however, is the cost of their inspections. The thorough examinations they currently undertake in riding school horses are time consuming and expensive, often running to hundreds of pounds. These costs would have to be passed to livery yard and horse owners.

It is envisaged that within five years of the act being implemented, detailed regulations and codes of practice will be issued which will be of practical assistance to EHPs. In terms of the welfare aspects of inspections it is likely that one of the codes of practice will be similar to the British Horse Society's approved livery yard scheme, which includes standards relating to areas like stabling, grazing, manure storage, health and riding facilities.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and British Veterinary Association have already produced guidelines for local authorities and their riding establishment inspectors. In addition, the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (Lacors) aims to offer specialist support and guidance to local authority officers on the implications of the animal welfare bill, which will include livery yard inspections.

HORSES AND THEIR OWNERS

Most owners should welcome the proposed changes to the law as it protects their own interests. If the legislation is fully implemented as intended, the wellbeing of horses kept at livery will certainly improve.

However, horses typically cost between £1,000 and £5,000 and many owners will be opposed to any increased costs relating to compliance with the law, if this is passed on to them. The licensing requirement may even result in the closure of many smaller yards as they become less economically viable.

LIVERY YARD OWNERS

Many livery yard owners, particularly those that operate well-managed and efficient businesses, will welcome the changes to the law. The British Horse Society's voluntary livery yard approval scheme includes nearly 300 members from the UK as well as yards in Ireland and a small number overseas. Yards complying with their scheme should not have significant difficulty in meeting licensing requirements.

However, others will inevitably oppose the changes. The fact that local authorities will be involved in this sector for the first time, will have wider reaching consequences than may at first be apparent. Many livery yard owners are likely to be in breach of legal requirements at the present time. For instance, the correct planning permission may not be in force. Even before the main licensing requirements are taken into account, officers should consider whether livery yard owners are covered by the correct rates of business, income tax is declared and insurance is held. Once the new licensing requirement is introduced these combined factors may lead to the closure of yards with repercussions for local horse owners.

At this stage it is estimated that the licence fee per yard will be in the region of £165 with renewal due every 18 months.

However, Defra acknowledges that, with the additional inspection costs and costs of compliance, the actual figure for some yards will be closer to £1,000. It estimates that the overall costs to the sector will be in the region of £1.7m to £10m.

There are other issues of interest in terms of the proposed legislation and livery yards. While the bill focuses on animal welfare issues, it is worth noting that local authorities currently have responsibility for enforcing health and safety in many livery yards through existing legislation. Licensing is likely to bring to the forefront many livery yards whose existence was previously unknown to local authorities. This will throw up many issues around their definition and application and will cover areas of concern, including under-reporting of accidents, manual handling and falls from height.

Clearly, local authorities will need to ensure they are fully prepared and equipped to enforce the licensing system before it finally arrives. Authorities that fail to take such measures run the risk of upsetting yard owners and horse owners, especially if inspections are inconsistent and are of a poor quality. Local authorities should also avoid falling into the trap of failing to publicise the implications of the licensing regime and then once it's introduced clamp down unfairly on a few. Such actions are likely to lose the respect and confidence of yard owners and horse owners.

Karen Sinclair-Williams is a housing needs manager at Spelthorne DC. She is also a British Horse Society qualified riding instructor who regularly teaches and rides. Karen jointly represented the CIEH on the Defra committee considering the draft animal welfare bill with regard to licensing livery yards.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer.

USEFUL INFORMATION

• British Horse Society: www.bhs.org.uk
• Equine Industry Welfare guidelines compendium for horses, ponies and donkeys: www.the-stationery-office.co.uk
• Lacors: www.lacors.gov.uk
• Defra: www.defra.gov.uk