Famous faces ride to Parliament to demand action
The riders posed with a banner asking 'Have you seen the bill?'
A group of riders, including some well-known faces, rode through London to Parliament on Tuesday, 18 April to press the Government to outlaw the live export of horses to slaughter by finally passing the Kept Animals Bill.
The unusual spectacle, organised by World Horse Welfare, included Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox, who is a patron of the charity, social media influencer ‘This Esme’, and former event rider and Olympic gold medalist Jane Holderness-Roddam among the riders.
Starting from South Carriage Drive in Knightsbridge, and flanked by mounted police for safety, the riders passed through Hyde Park to Constitution Hill and then rode along The Mall to Parliament, where they stopped at Victoria Gardens South.
With the Houses of Parliament in the background, the riders posed by a sign asking, ‘Have you seen the bill?’ If passed, the Kept Animals Bill would ban the export of live horses to slaughter. It was introduced to Parliament in June 2021, but little progress has been made on passing the legislation in recent months, despite cross-party support and campaigning from animal welfare charities.
Although no horses, ponies, or donkeys have officially been exported for slaughter in recent years, World Horse Welfare has said that it is aware of cases of equines being smuggled abroad for slaughter. The charity hopes that by banning live exports for slaughter, it will make it easier for authorities to tackle the illegal trade.
Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare, said: “Almost 100 years ago World Horse Welfare was founded by the inimitable Ada Cole, and stopping the live export of horses to slaughter was her founding principle. We have the chance to stop this practice once and for all, but time is running out.
“As the country prepares for a General Election, probably next year, the Bill will be put aside unless it is adopted soon. Without doubt, our aim here today is to raise awareness in the minds of the MPs in the building behind me and make sure that this opportunity is not lost.”
Sara Cox added: “My ride today, Onyx, was brilliant, taking all the people and traffic in the city in his stride. It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to see the name World Horse Welfare and so many people saw us ride through. A great charity doing such an important job, it was wonderful to be a part of it.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
