Wales Farmer March 2013 EQUESTRIAN


FOR the first time this year,a horse section will featureatthe RoyalWelsh


Society’s(RWAS)


Festival. Classes forworking hunters


and showjumping will sit along- side the manyfeatures thathave made the festivalsopopular with the public, such as live- stock, poultry,apremier open dogshow, woodland crafts,a green horizons and sustainable


Agricultural Spring


living exhibition, and afolk dance festival This will be the 12th festival


to be run by the RWAS since it took over the management of the event in 2001, developing it into akey attraction forsmall- holders,gardeners and country lovers,with aprogramme full of interest and entertainment for people of all ages. The livestock section will include native breeds of cattle,


sheep,Angora, Pygmyand dairy goats,and pigs. Therewill also be farriery competitions,vintage machinery and caravans,aspeakers’ corner, agardeners question time pro- gramme,and Farmers Markets in Wales will be based in the ClwydGlamorgan Hall with a wide range of home-produced food and drink. The festival’swinning formula will once again include numer-


ous demonstrations on subjects such as bee-keeping and craft- work,and hundreds of trade stands displaying everything for smallholders and gardeners from tools,equipment and clothing, to plants and shrubs. The colourful displays in the


floral hall areafavourite attrac- tion with visitors and not to be missed and therewill also be a gardeners’ corner,whereexperts will be readytodispense advice


and information. Therewill be an action-


packed programme of entertain- ment, including special activities forchildren, and auctions will also be held during the weekend. The festivalattracted arecord


attendance in 2012 of morethan 26,000 visitors,and will take place this year on the weekend of May18th and 19th on the RoyalWelsh Showground at Llanelwedd,Builth Wells.


27 Horses jump to it to join spring festival Admission to the festivalis


£13 foradults and £5 forchil- dren aged five to 16. Afamily ticket costs £30 and admission is free forchildren aged four-years- old and under. Pre-festivalticket prices are


£11 foradults,and £28 fora familyticket. Admission charges forchildren areunchanged. Thereisanadministration charge of £2 per order on all pre-festivalpasses.


£150,000 funding set aside to tackle growing problemofflygrazing


■ Cash injection to help meet the legal costs of prosecution


THE RISING problem of fly grazing in Wales is set to be tackled with £150,000


additional funding. The cash injection will


help meet the legal costs of prosecuting people who abandon horses on publicly owned spaces,common land and private land. Deputy minister foragri-


cultureAlun Davies said: “The Welsh Government, working in close and effec- tive partnership with the police,local authorities and welfarecharities,is determined to deal with the problem, swiftlyand robustly. “This extrafunding will


help meet the legal ele- ments of bringing prosecu- tions against the perpetra- tors of flygrazing and will serveasadeterrent to ille- gal horse trading.” CarlSargeant, Minister


forLocal Government and Communities,added: “The additional funding demon- strates the commitment of the Welsh Government to resolvethe problem and encouragelocal authorities to put consistent and effec- tive arrangements in place based on sound legal prac- tice.


“Addressing the issue of flygrazing will reduce the


demand on Local


Authorities,the Fireand Rescue Service and other agencies responding to loose or trapped horses. Thereisaclear commit- ment and awillingness from all agencies involved to work together in a robust manner to deal with this problem.” The majority of flygraz-


ing incidents have occurred in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend, wherearobust approach is being taken to deal with the issue. Mr Davies added: “The


behaviour of those horse owners whoseek to avoid their


responsibilities


through the practice of abandonment or flygraz- ingwillnot be tolerated anywhere in Wales. “I would stronglyadvise


landowners whofind them- selves victims of flygrazing to come forwardand report incidents and any associated


anti-social


behaviour.” Incidents of flygrazing


and anyassociated anti social behaviour can be reported to Crime Stoppers anonymouslyon0800 555111 or to the police via the 101 number or via email


to the Welsh


Government at equine policy@wales.gsi.gov.uk.


AGUIDANCE note on flygrazing has been issued to help landowners understand wherethey stand legallyand what steps they can taketoprevent the problem. The guidance note issued by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) includes preventive measures to help protect land from flygrazing and lists the


actions necessary and what bodies need informing immediatelysothat checks forstolen horses can be made as soon as possible. Alist of initial checks is included, along with the steps needed and powers under the Animals Act 1971 thatcan be applied to allowlandowners to put up an abandonment notice.


Ben Underwood, CLA Wales


director said: “Fromcontacting your insurance companyto requesting passports to getting valuations done,thereare arange of issues thatsurround flygrazing thatlandowners ought to be familiar with. “You also need to knowthe alternative options,especiallyif


youdonot want to get involved in the process of re-homing and selling and would rather distance yourself from anyconfrontation.” “This whole issue is avery


complexareaofthe lawand if an agreement cannot be reached with the legal owner youmay need to seek legal advice,” added Mr Underwood.


Event putsequine welfareattop of agenda


WELSH local authorities that arebeing forced to deal with the ever-increasing problem of ‘fly grazing’ have learned more about equine welfareataspecial event. Powys County Council hosted


an event to train local authorities on equine welfareinresponse to the abandonment and flygrazing of horses. The training wasdeliveredby


The Horse Trust and included speakers from the Redwings Horse Sanctuary,BransbyHome of Rest forHorses and South Wales Police. Nic De Brauwere, head of wel-


fareatRedwings Horse Sanctuary,said: “Too often these animals areinneed of urgent help and thanks to opportunities likethis the different agencies can use their respective skills collec-


tively to protect the welfarethese animals.” Speaking on behalf of the


BransbyHome of Rest for Horses,Philip York,added: “The unique issues facing the large horse population in Wales, requires amulti-organisational approach in terms of both skills and resources. “Being able to raise awareness at government levelreassures me


that, in partnership,wecan effec- tively address manyofthe wel- fareproblems thatare currently endemic in Wales.” Deputy minister foragricul-


tureAlun Davies welcomed the initiative. He said: “The Welsh


Government applauds the com- mitment made by the voluntary organisations to assist in raising awareness of equine welfareand


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


the associated issues thataccom- panyabandonment and flygraz- ing.


“The training provides an


insight into the issues seen over the recent months. “The police and local authori-


ties aretobecommended forthe robust wayinwhich they have dealt with the issues to date. “Events such as training days provide those dealing with aban-


donment with the tools they need to effectively enforce the regula- tions as well as providing an opportunity to sharebest prac- tice.


Large numbers of horses are


being abandoned in publicly owned spaces,common land and private land, the majority of which have occurred in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend.


GROWING PROBLEM: More efforts are being made to tackle the issue of fly grazing in Wales. These horses were among 35 that were dumped on land belonging to the Woodland Trust in the Vale of Glamorgan in December 2011.


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