Minutes of the General Meeting held on 26th November 2014
Held at World Horse Welfare, Hall Farm, Snetterton
Optional Tour of Farm – 10.00am
Meeting commenced at 11.00am
In Attendance:
Danica Pollard (Animal Health Trust)
Hannah Mays (A.B.R.S)
Carol Boulton (A.B.R.S)
Mandy Jones (Blue Cross)
Ryan Rouse (Bransby Horses)
Sarah Hackney (Bransby Horses)
Angela H M Sixsmith (British Driving Society)
Brig. Paul Jepson (BEVA)
Jenny Hall (British Horseracing)
Amy Moring (The Brooke)
Michael Crane (The Donkey Sanctuary)
Amanda Berry (HAPPA)
David McCormick (HAPPA)
Lindsey Plant (Horse Rescue Fund)
Jackie Crook (Horse Rescue Fund)
Bethan Matthews (Lluest Horse & Pony Trust)
Amy Morris (Lluest Horse & Pony Trust)
Sian Morris (Mare & Foal)
Sally Burton (Mare & Foal)
Joanne MacInnes (National Pony Society)
Nicola Markwell (Redwings Horse Sanctuary)
Rachel Angel (Redwings Horse Sanctuary)
Gareth Johnson (RSPCA)
Polly Underwood (RSPCA)
Kate Clement (RSPCA)
Anthony Burnett (SEIB)
Sam Browne (SEIB)
Gemma Stanford (BHS)
Carl Bettison (Worshipful Company of Farriers)
Lesley Barwise- Munro (NEWC Vice President)
Martin Taggart (The Donkey Sanctuary and NEWC Management Board)
Rebecca Evans (Horses4homes & NEWC Vice-Chair)
Nicolas De Brauwere (Redwings and NEWC Chairman)
Lee Hackett (BHS and NEWC Management Board)
David Boyd (World Horse Welfare and NEWC Management Board)
Sam Taylor (NEWC Administrator)
Wendy Minor (NEWC Administrator)
Graham Oldfield (Racehorse Sanctuary)
Fred Barrelet (Rossdales)
Sophie Kendrick (Hope Pastures)
Sue Sarucan (Hope Pastures)
Lisa Lanfear (CHAPS)
Katie Double (CHAPS)
Graeme Green (HorseHeard)
David Jordan (Animal Refuge)
GENERAL MEETING
Welcome and Apologies
The meeting commenced at 11.00am and David Boyd welcomed everyone to the meeting on behalf of World Horse Welfare and Roly Owers and thanked all those present for attending. NDB thanked World Horse Welfare for the use of the excellent facilities and the refreshments and lunch being provided during the day. NDB noted that it was good to see such a range of people present and thanked all NEWC members and Guest organisations for making the journey.
1. Apologies for Absence
Harry Greenway - NEWC President
Sarah Holton - Racehorse Owners Association
Iain Graham - British Showjumping
Lynn Cutress - Redwings
Fay Alan-Banting - South Hants Horse & Pony Protection
Jeanette Allen - The Horse Trust
Grace Muir - HEROS
Pauline Grant - Sussex Horse Rescue Trust
Georgina Dale - Dartmoor Livestock
Jeremy Hulme - SPANA
Jerry Watkins - HorseWorld
Lynda Lodge - British Skewbald & Piebald Association
Helen Yeadon - Greatwood
Stella King - Canterbury Horse Rescue
Natalie Waran - Royal (Dick) Vet School
Pat Hartley - Mill House Animal Sanctuary
Carol Hall - NTU
2. Minutes of the previous meeting
NDB asked all present to go through the previous meetings minutes page by page and requested all present to make any comments. All members in attendance felt they were an accurate record of the meeting. (Proposed MT/ seconded RE)
3. Matters Arising
All members present felt there were no matters arising since the previous meeting.
4. Chairman’s Report & Accounts to 30.06.13 (Annex 1 and 2)
The Report and Accounts (Annex 1 and 2) were offered to the membership for comment.
NDB thanked the larger members for their voluntary donations and those still in the pipeline, and for their support. Next year we will not need to cover expensive legal fees. In 2015 we will look at the membership subscription fee structure to increase the fee for those that can afford it. We want members to actively engage in projects and let us know of any other work we can be involved in. NDB thanked the BHS for the office provision and use of the meeting rooms. NDB welcomed new members The Elise Pilkington Trust, CHAPS and HorseHeard/ LeadChange.
5. NEWC Regulations – philosophy and main points – Martin Taggart
The Articles of Association state all members to be full members. This document will be sent out to members for consultation shortly.
6. NEWC Code of Practice 2014 Revision
MT said that organisations applying to NEWC for membership need to be sustainable and the Code explains how organisations approach governance and fundraising. The EPT are aware that we have not spent the full £8,000 and it was agreed that we should return the balance and apply for more funding to cover the online inspection process and self-assessment.
7. Guest Speaker – Fred Barrelet – Equine Child Labour (Annex 3)
Fred spoke about equine age, reproductive maturity and skeletal maturity. Fred explained that to start racing youngsters’ too early growth plates can become inflamed and can influence the confirmation of the horse. FB explained that you need to keep going with a youngster once you have started from a skeletal point of view. JH clarified the rules in the racing industry and added that the horse either has the capability or not. FB said that there is pressure for horses to perform at a young age, particularly competing in dressage and jumping. Fred covered obesity in the young show horses which he sees as a potential welfare problem. He considers endurance not to be a problem, only in the Middle East where speed is the ultimate goal. In dressage the pressure is huge on a 5-6 year olds joints and also in Showjumping.
8. Guest Speaker – Danica Pollard, Animal Health Trust – CARE (Creating Awareness & Recording Evidence) Laminitis project
NDB introduced Danica to all present at the meeting and thanked her for coming to speak in relation to her current ongoing project regarding laminitis. Danica informed all present at the meeting of the project she was running in relation to Laminitis. Danica informed us that more than 3,000 horse and pony owners were needed to collaborate on a new web-based research project, named ‘CARE (Creating Awareness and Reporting Evidence) about laminitis’, the project aims to help all horse and pony owners reduce the threat posed by equine laminitis. So far the study has nearly 600 horses signed up but a lot more were needed so Danica encouraged those present to share information regarding the survey in hope that the registered number of participants increases. Danica stressed how essential it was that input was gathered from as many owners as possible, whether or not the equines registered suffer with Laminitis as this would give the study a broader range of indicators. After the presentation questions were opened up to all present. NdB queried if charities could register the equines they have within their organisations. Danica confirmed they could do this and that Bransby Horses had already registered with the project. NdB requested that the NEWC office re-send information relating to the project to all NEWC members. ST /WM confirmed that the project had been advertised on both the NEWC website and Facebook page. NdB encouraged NEWC members to assist with the project and to contact Danica directly if they required any further information. NdB thanked Danica for her time and asked if she would return once the project was finished to discuss the results.
9. Forum Discussion –NEWC’s position on the Role of Slaughter in Equine Welfare – debate instigated by recent proposals on Dartmoor
NdB gave a brief overview of the handout that had been prepared in advance of the meeting to aid the discussion (Annex 5). An open discussion in relation to the handout then commenced led by NdB.
Key points raised;
· By supporting the meat trade NEWC would just be encouraging over-breeding rather than finding a solution to the current problem.
· The majority of those present felt uneasy with encouraging breeding for meat consumption and felt it would leave NEWC wide open to criticism.
· Lack of reputable abattoir’s, current slaughter houses are not set up to cope with a supply for the meat trade.
· The welfare of the horses whilst alive was also a big concern – who would be monitoring them and ensuring good welfare was maintained.
· It was felt that Education should be the focus rather than supporting ad-hoc solutions such as supply to the meat trade as supply would just create demand and increase the over breeding rather than solve the issue.
· If responsible breeding took place then supply to the meat trade wouldn’t even be a consideration.
· Various short solutions, long and short term, were discussed – Stallion Licensing reinstatement, sterilisation of Dartmoor’s etc.
Overall it was agreed that NEWC should not at this point give any view for or against the proposed possible supply to the meat trade.
10. Date and venue of AGM
HorseHeard/ LeadChange have offered their venue for the AGM and suggested a facility taster session. NDB thanked Graeme for his offer. HAPPA have also offered their facilities if their building is finished in time. RSPCA Gonsal Farm was also offered by Gareth Johnson.
Annexes
1. Chairman’s Report -NBD
2. Accounts to 30.06.14
3. Presentation - Equine Child Labour
4. Presentation - CARE (Creating Awareness & Recording Evidence) Laminitis project
5. Forum Discussion Handout - Should NEWC have a position statement in relation to the role of a horse meat trade and horse welfare
Annex 1
Chairman’s Report November 2014
· Thank you to World Horse Welfare for hosting today’s meeting.
· Thank you to Fred Barrelet and Danica Pollard for coming to share their knowledge and experience with us on topical equine health and welfare matters. NEWC is very fortunate to be able to benefit from two speakers that are addressing issues at the very heart of equine welfare.
· I’d also like to say a very big thank you to Bipin Thacker of SEIB who has patiently continued to support NEWC as honorary treasurer during the protracted process of NEWC formally becoming a CIC. I’d like to thank Redwings Horse Sanctuary for agreeing to take on the accounting oversight and treasurer responsibilities for NEWC going forward.
· Welcome to our new members: The Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust, Cyrenians Community Horse and Pony Scheme; HorseHeard and LeadChange.
· The revised NEWC Code of Practice (replacing the Code of Practice for Welfare Organisations involved in the Keeping of Horses, Ponies and Donkeys) is now in circulation. The new Code has been designed to outline and support our membership standards and act as a companion document to the Equine Industry Welfare Guidelines Compendium. We are grateful to The Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust for their support in producing this updated Code. We hope that our current and future members find it a useful tool in operating a successful, welfare friendly establishment, be that a charity or a commercial enterprise. Please let the NEWC office know how many copies your organisation will wish to have. We have printed 500 copies, fewer than we did for the Compendium, as it isn’t expected to have the same level of circulation as the Compendium; but a pdf version is also available on our website for download.
· After much stress to Martin Taggart; and Sam and Wendy at the office, it seems like the last piece in the jigsaw has fallen into place for NEWC to formally operate as a CIC. The delay has been due to sluggish procedures linked to opening a new bank account for the CIC.
· As always, our NEWC members have been working tirelessly to serve equines in need; and partnership working has continued to be a vital contributor to the successes of various welfare initiatives. Those working together at Appleby Horse Fair and the Equine Link days have developed considerable engagement with the horse owners in the Gypsy and Traveller and urban horse-owning communities; as well as with local authorities and the Police. The work done to date is enabling us to begin to analyse the impact we are having and how to develop the projects. NEWC is becoming synonymous with partnership working in this way.
· The years of work by the Equine Sector Council and its wider membership appear to have led to significant progress on the need for more robust legislation to tackle fly grazing in England.
· The Equine Sector Council continues to work hard on providing Defra in particular with evidence and input on a host of issues affecting horse health and welfare. NEWC members have an excellent opportunity to see issues important to their work taken forward by engaging with the Equine Sector Council. NEWC urges you as members to use these opportunities to participate in consultations and bring forward issues as a very real way to harness the power of the wider welfare community. One of the key functions of the NEWC office is to support our members in accessing the work done by the Sector Council and to then play an active role in working towards better horse welfare.
NEWC is working towards:
· As part of changing to a CIC the old NEWC constitution will need to be translated into a set of regulations as required by our CIC status. We are grateful to Martin Taggart for undertaking this process. The Management Board have taken this opportunity to review the Constitution so that we have a guiding document that is fit for the next period in NEWC’s history. We will be consulting on this with the membership in the near future.
· The NEWC Management Board and office team continue to develop a user-friendly and effective online membership self-assessment and inspection tool that will underpin the new Code of Practice.
· The NEWC office will become the central point for anyone wishing to organise Equine Link events so that there is support available and to help ensure that events have a consistent feel to them wherever they might be held. NEWC will also help document the statistics of each event and gather feedback to use in sharing best practice. It is vital that Equine Link events offer a consistently high standard of care for equines and owners; but equally important is that events can respond to local needs and come up with useful innovations that will make the project relevant in the future. From colleagues working ‘at the coalface’ we know that the users of the Equine Link services share their experiences with fellow horse owners across the UK. Equine Link therefore has the potential to have a substantial impact on owner education whilst also introducing the welfare groups to owners and their horses, making future dealings with their horses more meaningful. By asking NEWC to serve as a central point for the Equine Link project we can held spread consistent health and welfare messages as well as monitor what impact we are having on raising health and welfare standards for the horses seen; and ultimately even other horses cared for by the people attending the events.