Thank you for contacting me in relation to the welfare of race horses.

You may already be aware that the Racehorse Protection e-petition was debated on 15^th October 2018.

In this debate, the BHA were recognised as lacking urgency in cases of poor mistreatment of horses that have led to serious injury and death. The BHA have also been ridiculed for their failure to take pragmatic steps when horses are killed.

As a member of the Animal Welfare Group in Parliament I will ensure that we keep pushing on this issue and I believe that the welfare of horses should be at the top of the agenda for the future meeting between the Minister of Animal Welfare and the British Horseracing Association.

As you may know, Labour has a comprehensive animal welfare plan which includes issues on the welfare of racing horses and can be found here: https://labour.org.uk/issues/animal-welfare-plan/