25th October, 2009 Photos from Chagford Sale

To see all the pictures I took at Chagford sales go to:

http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/Sweston/Chagford%20Sales/

Click on slideshow

Here are some of the relevant sections of The Welfare of Horses at Markets (and Other Places of Sale) Order 1990:

5.—(1) No person shall permit an unfit horse to be exposed for sale in a market.

6.—(1) No person shall cause or permit any injury or unnecessary suffering to a horse in a market. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) above, it shall be the duty of any person in charge of a horse in a market to ensure that the horse is not, or is not likely to be, caused injury or unnecessary suffering by reason of—
(c) the horse being hit or prodded by any instrument or other thing;
or (e) any other cause.

7. _ (3) No person shall separate a foal from its dam while—
(a) they are awaiting removal from the market after being exposed for sale;

9.—(1) No person shall use excessive force to control any horse in a market.

(2) No person shall use in a market—
(a) any instrument which is capable of inflicting an electric shock to control any horse; or
(b) any stick, crop, whip, goad or other instrument or thing to hit or prod any horse. (3) No person shall drive, ride or lead any horse over any ground or floor, the nature or condition of which is likely to cause the horse to slip or fall.

10.—(1) No person shall knowingly obstruct any horse which is being driven or led through any part of a market. (2) No person shall wantonly or unreasonably annoy any horse in a market.

Penning and separation of horses 11.—(1) It shall be the duty of a market operator to ensure that no horse is kept in a pen which is unsuitable for the size of that horse. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) above, it shall be the duty of a market operator or other person for the time being in charge of any horse to ensure that, within the market—
(a) when horses are penned—
(i) they are kept in separate pens from animals of another species;
(ii) they are distributed within the pens, having regard to differences in age and size, so as to avoid unnecessary suffering to them;
(iii) any fractious horse is kept in a separate pen from other horses; and
(iv) they are not kept in pens which are overcrowded;
(b) adequate provision is made to prevent horses—
(i) escaping from the market, and
(ii) coming into contact with any aggressive or fractious animals in the market;
(c) a horse of one of the following descriptions is not kept in the same undivided pen as any other horse—
(i) a stallion;
(ii) a cryptorchid or rig;
(iii) a mare heavily in foal;
(iv) a mare with foal at foot; or
(v) a horse whose hind feet are shod;
(d) an unsecured horse is not kept in the same undivided pen as any horse which is secured;
(e) a horse which is not penned shall be—
(i) effectively separated from any other horse or other animal, and
(ii) secured by the head (except where it has not been halter broken) unless it is being driven, ridden or led. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (2) above, a "fractious horse" and a "fractious animal" is a horse or other animal which is likely to cause injury to other horses or animals.

Feeding and watering of horses 12.—(1) It shall be the duty of the person in charge of a horse to ensure that the horse is provided with an adequate quantity of wholesome water as often as is necessary to prevent it suffering from thirst.

Duties of market authorities 15. It shall be the duty of a market authority to ensure that—
(a) all passageways and sale rings in the market and all pens in which horses are kept are—
(i) constructed and maintained in a manner which is not likely to cause injury or unnecessary suffering to horses; and
(ii) free from any sharp edges or projections with which horses may come into contact;
(b) an adequate supply of wholesome water is available for horses;
(c) any fixed ramps used for the loading or unloading of horses into or out of vehicles have—
(i) anti-slip surfaces; and
(ii) side railings or some other means of protection designed and constructed so as to prevent a horse from falling off them;
(d) adequate facilities in the form of troughs, buckets, drinking bowls or other drinking devices are available for watering horses; and
(e) any covered accommodation in the market in which horses are kept is capable of being adequately ventilated.