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Hitting Horses In Racing

EDM number 577 in 2015-16, proposed by Roger Godsiff on 22/10/2015.
Categorised under the topics of Animal welfare and Sports.

That this House notes with concern that racehorses are routinely beaten with a whip under rules set by the industry's regulatory body, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA); further notes that these rules explicitly sanction the use of the whip for so-called encouragement, in order that jockeys may try to improve their chances of winning; observes that new research demonstrates that the majority of whip strikes and breaches occur in the final stages of hotly contested races, even though evidence indicates that whipping for this purpose is counter-productive and does not make a horse go faster; further observes that horseracing is the only form of public entertainment to involve hitting animals, and believes that this is out of place in a nation with a great concern for animal wellbeing; notes that no other animal can be legally beaten in such circumstances, and that a 2014 YouGov poll found that 70 per cent of all respondents oppose racehorses being whipped; recognises that, for genuine purposes of safety, where other methods have failed to bring a horse under control, a whip can be legitimately employed, as recommended by the RSPCA and as is already the case in Norway; and calls on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that the BHA's rules are amended to forbid use of the whip for encouragement or for equivalent reasons.

This motion has been signed by a total of 51 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Roger Godsiff22/10/2015Birmingham, Hall GreenLabourProposed
Yasmin Qureshi09/11/2015Bolton South EastLabourSeconded
Stuart McDonald19/11/2015Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch EastScottish National PartySeconded
David Anderson23/11/2015BlaydonLabourSeconded
Tommy Sheppard23/11/2015Edinburgh EastScottish National PartySeconded
Fabian Hamilton23/11/2015Leeds North EastLabourSeconded
Paul Monaghan24/11/2015Caithness, Sutherland and Easter RossScottish National PartySigned
Gerald Kaufman24/11/2015Manchester, GortonLabourSigned
Thangam Debbonaire25/11/2015Bristol WestLabourSigned
Chris Evans25/11/2015IslwynLabourSigned
Corri Wilson26/11/2015Ayr, Carrick and CumnockScottish National PartySigned
Caroline Lucas26/11/2015Brighton, PavilionGreenSigned
Michael Weir01/12/2015AngusScottish National PartySigned
Mark Williams02/12/2015CeredigionLiberal DemocratSigned
Carol Monaghan07/12/2015Glasgow North WestScottish National PartySigned
Ronnie Campbell07/12/2015Blyth ValleyLabourSigned
Tom Brake08/12/2015Carshalton and WallingtonLiberal DemocratSigned
Jim Dowd09/12/2015Lewisham West and PengeLabourSigned
Tania Mathias09/12/2015TwickenhamConservativeSigned
Albert Owen15/12/2015Ynys MLabourSigned
Kirsten Oswald16/12/2015East RenfrewshireScottish National PartySigned
Clive Betts16/12/2015Sheffield South EastLabourSigned
Patricia Gibson05/01/2016North Ayrshire and ArranScottish National PartySigned
Margaret Ferrier06/01/2016Rutherglen and Hamilton WestScottish National PartySigned
Norman Lamb07/01/2016North NorfolkLiberal DemocratSigned
Callum McCaig07/01/2016Aberdeen SouthScottish National PartySigned
Ann Clwyd11/01/2016Cynon ValleyLabourSigned
Gavin Newlands18/01/2016Paisley and Renfrewshire NorthScottish National PartySigned
John Pugh20/01/2016SouthportLiberal DemocratSigned
Anne Main21/01/2016St AlbansConservativeSigned
Alan Brown27/01/2016Kilmarnock and LoudounScottish National PartySigned
Stewart McDonald04/02/2016Glasgow SouthScottish National PartySigned
Naseem Shah08/02/2016Bradford WestLabourSigned
Owen Thompson10/02/2016MidlothianScottish National PartySigned
Dennis Skinner02/03/2016BolsoverLabourSigned
Frank Field07/03/2016BirkenheadLabourSigned
Bill Esterson07/03/2016Sefton CentralLabourSigned
Stephen Twigg09/03/2016Liverpool, West DerbyLabourSigned
Alison McGovern11/03/2016Wirral SouthLabourSigned
Rosie Cooper11/03/2016West LancashireLabourSigned
Marie Rimmer14/03/2016St Helens South and WhistonLabourSigned
Ruth Cadbury21/03/2016Brentford and IsleworthLabourSigned
Liz Saville Roberts22/03/2016Dwyfor MeirionnyddPlaid CymruSigned
Joanna Cherry22/03/2016Edinburgh South WestScottish National PartySigned
David Crausby23/03/2016Bolton North EastLabourSigned
Valerie Vaz24/03/2016Walsall SouthLabourSigned
Phil Boswell11/04/2016Coatbridge, Chryston and BellshillScottish National PartySigned
Roberta Blackman-Woods13/04/2016City of DurhamLabourSigned
Robert Flello19/04/2016Stoke-on-Trent SouthLabourSigned
Kelvin Hopkins20/04/2016Luton NorthLabourSigned
Sammy Wilson20/04/2016East AntrimDUPSigned

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