Horse Racing

Do Britons want to pay a £10.50 horse tax?

The British Horse Race Society is seeking the views of members on the possibility of a horse tax being imposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of a wider livestock strategy for funding the response for tackling animal disease outbreaks.

Defra is currently consulting the wider livestock industry on what it calls a new independent body for animal health - a modern governance and funding structure for tackling animal diseases.

The proposals include:

* A new body for animal health in England, with a chief executive and an independent board including representatives from the livestock industry, which will take on everything that Defra currently does in relation to setting animal health policy except for animal welfare;

* Compulsory registration of livestock keepers and a levy to provide an additional source of funding to contribute initially to dealing with exotic disease outbreaks.

The latter would cover all main species of farmed livestock, but the consultation asks for views whether horses should be included in the new funding arrangements.

If extended to include horses, the proposed levy fee is £10.50 per horse.