B.E.V.A. SUBMISSION to the BURNS COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO HUNTING WITH DOGS

The British Equine Veterinary Association ( BEVA ) is a professional body representing approximately 1600 members , the majority of whom are veterinary surgeons working with horses in practice , industry and academia in the United Kingdom. Our Association has the welfare of horses as a major remit and as such felt it was inappropriate to comment on the "rights and wrongs" of the hunting of foxes with dogs . Our membership is composed of people with as many differing opinions about hunting as those in the rest of the population. Some participate very actively in the sport , others are heavily reliant on income from professional involvement with horses or dogs , whilst others have no strong views about hunting or are against it. However we believe it is likely that the majority would not support a ban on hunting , which forms an important element of the fabric of the countryside community.

Whilst BEVA has not commented on this matter before in public we feel that a ban on fox hunting has the potential to have a significant effect on our profession. Precise data are hard to obtain but we believe that there are well over twenty thousand horses and ponies involved in hunting regularly, although some of these are also involved in other pursuits. This would appear to represent one of the largest groups of horses directly involved in any branch of equine sporting activity. It is even harder to produce accurate statistics about the number of veterinary surgeons who derive a significant or major proportion of their income from dealing with such patients. However our best estimate is that no less than several hundred of our profession deal regularly with horses involved in hunting although many more may deal with them occasionally.

The loss of work would affect a number of veterinary practices. Although much of the work is seasonal (autumn, winter and early spring months) veterinary involvement with the breeding and rearing of horses involves activity at other times of the year. For example a recent poll amongst veterinary practices in Gloucestershire revealed that 36 out of 40 treat horses regularly. In 9 of these practices equine work accounts for 75% of their caseload. In a further 4 practices equine work represents 50% of the caseload. Although only approximately 30% of all equine work in the county directly relates to horses which are involved in hunting , this still represents a major source of income and employment for veterinary surgeons in the area. Furthermore there would have to be a similar effect on ancillary trades such as farriery , physiotherapy , feed merchants , saddle makers and providers of tack and riding clothes ,let alone the loss of hunt personnel.

It has been stated that the horses affected by a ban on hunting with dogs would find gainful employment in other equine activities including drag hunting , but we believe this to be an oversimplification of the situation. In some cases the type and temperament of horse involved in hunting would make such an animal unsuitable for other pleasure pursuits. It therefore remains to be seen what would happen to thousands of horses currently well fed and looked after who found themselves suddenly unemployed. It is not difficult to conceive that there may be major implications for the welfare of such animals. Whilst BEVA is not directly involved with canine welfare it should be borne in mind that foxhounds are a specialised breed of dog for which it would be hard to imagine another role in society. It is possible that a ban on hunting with dogs could result in the demise of a whole breed.

A ban on hunting with dogs may have an effect on racing , especially on "point to pointing" which is organised by the various hunts around the country. It seems likely that "point to point" racing would contract if not collapse completely.

There is also a hidden problem in the ban on hunting with dogs which one suspects has received scant consideration by the politicians i.e. the disposal of equine carcasses. The advent of strict E.U. legislation a few years ago , combined with the collapse of the trade in horse hair and hides and the ban on the use of equine meat in commercial pet food made the disposal of equine carcasses exceedingly difficult. Knacker men who had previously paid for equine (and other) carcasses began to charge for their services or more often went out of business. However, in many parts of the country the situation was saved by hunts collecting the carcasses to feed the hounds and frequently farm animal carcasses were collected and incinerated at some cost to the hunt. This was provided as a subsidised service to the local community. Furthermore in most cases this proved to be a very fast and efficient service which is essential in rural communities. Leaving carcasses around at the site of an accident or anywhere where a horse has had to be destroyed as a matter of urgency, which is frequently the case, would be completely unacceptable for a variety of obvious reasons.

Although a number of pet crematoria have been developed , they are not widespread and the cost of equine cremation is understandably high putting it beyond the reach of many horse owners. The sheer physical size makes burial impractical although allegedly this is still practised (often in desperation ) in some parts of the country, without in some cases the appropriate water authorities having been consulted. Understandably MAFF is keen to reduce the number of carcasses buried to an absolute minimum.

The loss of hunt kennels as a route of disposal of fallen stock , when there is increased pressure for other reasons on carcass disposal , would place a very heavy financial burden on horse owners and farmers. For example a commercial incinerator may charge £300 or significantly more to dispose of a horse, compared to a nominal charge of £50 to £100 by a hunt kennel. An estimate by the Jockey Club suggests that this would involve approximately 10,000 equine carcasses currently disposed of by hunt kennels per annum. To give a practical example of how valuable are hunt kennels in dealing with fallen stock , the Percy Hunt ( North East England ) collected 625 adult cattle ,440 calves and 84 horses in the year 1^st May 1998 to 30^th April 1999. This service is carried out free of charge and the Hunt has an incinerator to dispose of carcasses unfit for hound consumption. Thus it is clear that the loss of hunt kennels would result in a crisis in carcass disposal which may not readily be resolved.

In conclusion , the British Equine Veterinary Association is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the issues surrounding a possible ban on hunting with dogs. We hope that our submission will be considered balanced and rational as would be expected from members of a distinguished profession who clearly have something to lose from such a ban. The format of our response has not been a series of direct answers to the questions posed but has taken into consideration those matters which we felt best qualified to respond to.

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