Tighter controls on the care of commercial horses are to be discussed in the next session of Parliament.

After more than three years, proposed amendments to the Care and Protection of Animals (commercial horse stables standards) have finally been drafted for consideration by Members of Parliament.

It is hoped the changes, which are to supplement current regulations, will clearly state the law to horse operators and give animal welfare officers more power to enforce it.

In the past, it was feared that some of the regulations were open to interpretation and discretion.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) inspector Charles Whited said the charity had been involved in drawing up the new guidelines since 1999 and was glad to finally see Government moving ahead.

He said the SPCA had been frustrated that although the Departments of Environment and Agriculture and Fisheries had been working on the new amendments, it had taken so long to begin the process of introducing them.

Mr. Whited said: “We were told by the Department that we should get these guidelines done so they could be acted upon by January, 2000.

“Here we are, August of 2002, and we are still waiting. We have been told that they will be discussed during the coming months of Parliament, and it will not be a day too soon.

“These guidelines will once and for all set out what horse operators have to do to meet the law and will clearly state where the law is being broken.”

The amendments intend to ensure that horses have stables that provide safe, sufficient shelter from weather elements.

They must be of a certain size, have a paddock area to enable the horse to exercise and be fire safe.

And carriage operators will have a set of rules that will govern their daily operations in regards to ambient temperature, length of time and frequency of work.

Environment Permanent Secretary Brian Rawlinson said the aim of the new guidelines was to improve standards among horse operators and set out clearly what the terms were.

He said: “The majority of commercial horse operators are very good, but there are a couple that prove difficult.

“These proposed amendments will give us more teeth to take action and to justifiably withhold licences until work has been carried out.”

Government Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Nisbett, who carried out research for the regulations and assisted in their drafting, said they could turn out to be a “double-edged sword”.

He said: “The SPCA is pushing to have these regulations put into law.

“In the current law, it says the shelter should be adequate, but then everyone has a different opinion on what is adequate.

“We are trying to address that, but, at the same time, we get into so much detail that no one will have a licence.

“If you really wanted to play hardball, you could get everybody out. I could find a violation in every stable, so it has to be a question of what is really important. Is it something they can fix quickly? For the minor things, I would not withhold a licence. If it's a major thing or multiple things, I would.”

From next April, when the 2003 tourist season starts, the SPCA is also hoping to have a new scheme running where carriage operators voluntarily become SPCA approved.

Mr. Whited said operators will be encouraged to be inspected by the charity, and those that pass will be issued with a certificate for display on their carriage.

He said: “We will erect a sign at the carriage areas in Hamilton and St. George's informing the public of the scheme and encouraging them to use only the horse that are SPCA approved. That way we hope to eradicate any poor standards.”