Dear Sir
Re: Government Inquiry into Hunting
As you know, Dodson & Horrell are a leading manufacturer of horse feed in the UK and our business has grown considerably during the last fifteen years due to considerable investment in expertise, plant and machinery.
I have calculated the effects a ban on hunting would have on our business as follows:
Total population of horses is 800,000 - of these 400,000 are 'cared for' on a regular basis i.e. fed, wormed etc. The compound horse feed industry in the UK is approximately 200,000 tonnes per annum. It is estimated that 56,000 horses are used principally for hunting which is 14% of the total of horses that are 'cared for'.
However, a hunter in work will consume an average of 5kg of feed per day for approximately nine months (this includes a pre-season fittening programme). 5kg x 270 days = 1,350kg per horse, per season x 56,000 horses = 75,600 tonnes of feed which is 38% of the total compound horse feed market and has a value of over £15million.
Horsefeed constitutes 75% of our business. Therefore, 28.5% of our business would be lost. This would result in a reduction of staff of between 20-25% and as we employ 120 people this would result in 24-30 job losses in what is a predominantly rural area. As I am sure you will appreciate, the cost of running a mill and its profitability is very much dependent on the throughput and a reduction of 28.5% would have a serious effect on our overall profitability.
Because of the general state of agriculture this loss of tonnage could not be replaced by manufacturing feed for other species. In addition, we buy the majority of our raw materials from local farmers and therefore the knock-on effect could be very serious for the local agricultural community. I am happy for you to make this information available for a public inquiry if required.
Yours sincerely
Christopher Gordon
Director
Date uploaded to site 8 March 2000