ABRS+ Contributes to Council Licencing Review

The ABRS met with DEFRA to discuss the Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the Animal Welfare Act and to put forward member views so that these can be considered as a part of the PIR.

Please see ABRS Response to DEFRA to see our contribution to the ongoing consultation

What is a PIR?

A PIR is a process to review a regulation or policy decision after it has been implemented and operational for a period of time.  A PIR should assess: if the objectives of the regulation (e.g to improve animal welfare by bringing five animal activities licensing schemes in line with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act 2006) have been achieved; if the objectives are still relevant; and, if they could be achieved in a less burdensome way.

A PIR is a process that leads to a policy decision. It should inform decisions about the next steps with a regulation which are:

• Renew the LAIA regulations with no changes made
• Amend some aspects of the regulations and associated guidance
• Remove an activity or section from the regulations
• Completely remove LAIA and put something else in its place

Evidence gathering

DEFRA are currently gathering evidence from interested organisation.  The conducted an on-line survey (not a formal consultation) from 30^th  September – 11^th November 2022.   There were 130 usable responses to the Hiring out Horses survey.  Respondents include individual riding schools, sector groups, local authorities and vets.  A data snapshot from the survey includes:

• The introduction of LAIA 2018 has improved the welfare of horses used for riding or instruction in riding

Strongly agree or agree: 46%

Neutral: 28%

Strongly disagree or disagree: 26%

This demonstrates the mix of responses that the survey has received.

Some of the topics raised by the survey include:

• Inconsistency of enforcement of the regulations by local authorities and the associated star rating
• Public awareness of LAIA should be improved – need to raise awareness that star rating doesn’t equal quality of riding instruction
• Need for improved knowledge of local authority inspectors
• Raise of minimum age of horse used for riding from 3 years to 4 years
• Examples of activities respondents would like to be regulated (licenced or registered):
• Loan of horses
• Livery yards
• Quality of riding instruction
• Carriage driving

Timeline

The timelines for completing the PIR are as follows:

• Autumn 2022: evidence gathering
• Spring/Summer 2023: report writing
• October 2023: Report published (covers all LAIA activities including Hiring out Horses) setting out the proposed next steps for the Regulation
• 2024: Changes made to regulations and associated guidance (dependent on parliamentary time/political environment)