Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 4th December 2017
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Foal registration rule ‘to improve welfare and traceability’
“The information gained will improve transparency and traceability around the care that breeders and owners provide to thoroughbreds."
All births must be registered within 30 days - BHA

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced a new requirement to register all foals bred for racing within 30 days of their birth, in a bid to improve traceability and animal welfare.

Since March 2015 it has been a requirement to register foal births within one year for anti-doping purposes. From 1 January 2018, however, this period will shrink to 30 days.

BHA says the new rule will allow it to trace the welfare and whereabouts of foals before they arrive at a registered training yard, as well as recording locations and monitoring the welfare of unnamed horses. It brings Britain into line with international practice, across many other major racing jurisdictions.

Jamie Stier, BHA’s chief regulatory officer, said: “The information gained will improve transparency and traceability around the care that breeders and owners provide to thoroughbreds in the formative stages of their lives, and is critical to our industry upholding its commitment to leading on animal welfare standards.

“It will lead to increased accountability in both the racing and breeding industries, and support the BHA in delivering a welfare commitment to our horses which will now encompass their pre-racing lives, as well as their racing careers.”

The new requirement will also further support the BHA’s anti-doping policy and could help to establish future trading relationships, enabling horse movements across borders once the UK has left the EU.

Julian Richmond-Watson, chairman of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, welcomed the change, adding: “Effective systems to provide traceability are rightly seen as instrumental in dealing with infectious diseases, and in maintaining the high health status of British Thoroughbreds."

Birth notifications will be managed by breeders and owners through Weatherbys’ General Stud Book online system, which will be up and running from 22 January 2018. Birth registration can be completed at the same time as foal registration, on the same platform, and there is no addition fee for notifying births within the 30-day window. An ascending fee structure will be in place for notifications made after the 30 days have elapsed.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Cold-water dip to raise funds for Vetlife

News Story 1
 The veterinary mental health charity Vetlife is inviting the veterinary community to join it for a sponsored cold-water dip.

The event will take place at Walpole Bay, Margate, on 17 May during Mental Health Awareness Week. Participants of all abilities can join in the challenge and are advised to bring a towel, a hot drink, a snack, and warm clothes to get changed into afterwards.

Those taking part are being asked to try to raise 100 each to support the work of the charity.

Details about how to take part can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue low vector period ends

In an update to its bluetongue guidance, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the seasonal low vector period for the disease has ended.

With winter over, Defra is planning for a possible increase in cases as midges become more active. It has warned that farms along the east coast of England from Norfolk to Kent, and along the south coast from Kent to Devon, are at highest risk from infected midges blown over from northern Europe.

Since the virus was detected in England in November 2023, there have been 126 confirmed cases. The most recent case to be confirmed was on 1 March 2024.

Farmers are asked to continue to frequently monitor their livestock and ensure their animals and land are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency.