A campaign to revise the Dangerous Dogs Act and The Countryside Code to better protect horses is receiving increasing support from Members of Parliament.
Your Horse last updated readers on the campaign after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) formally responded to a parliamentary petition that attracted 20,712 signatures.
Although the petition, spearheaded by campaigners Victoria Privett and Katie Smart, has now closed, the initiative has entered a more structured and strategic phase under its official new title ‘Leash and Release’.
Its goal now is to update existing legislation and make it “more enforceable”, reflecting that horse riders more often encounter loose dogs in public spaces, such as bridleways, rather than in agricultural settings.
Political collaboration
The campaign is beginning to bridge political lines.
Steve Yemm, MP for Mansfield, met with Damien Hinds, Conservative MP for East Hampshire, to discuss the issue and have confirmed their support for the campaign.
This cross-party collaboration marks a significant step in pushing the issue onto the parliamentary agenda.
Steve was initially contacted by Katie after her own horse was fatally chased and attacked by a dog in his paddock.
He has since sent two follow-up requests to Defra, after the government’s initial response to the petition, and raised concerns.
“Steve Yemm wrote to Defra on our behalf to raise questions about their response,” said Victoria, whose own MP is Damien Hinds.
“We still haven’t had a response from DEFRA, but we’re not giving up.
“This stage [of the campaign] is all about building support, gathering information, and connecting with people who can help us move forward.
“We have multiple MPs on board now.”
‘Attacks are still happening’
Katie recently met with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire.
“I’ve raised the issue with my Police and Crime Commissioner that attacks are still happening in my area. Recently we had another dog attack in a field, and a horse that was chased down a bridleway,” she said.
“We are trying to get as much support as we can from different angles.”
Victoria, who is on Instagram as ‘Endurance with Darcey’, encouraged her followers to get involved and contact their MPs.
“We put together a template letter for my social media followers to send to their MPs, which quite a few people did, and we got responses from MPs across the country.
“I think people felt like the MPs letters were a waste of time, but they weren’t. It piqued an interest.”
In some cases, the responses were unexpectedly insightful.
One MP referenced ‘Gladys’ Law’, which sought justice for a cow that was chased off a cliff by two Labradors.
That campaign had progressed to the third reading in Parliament before being derailed by a general election.
“Having the replies from MPs like that with little snippets of information has been super helpful,” added Victoria.
‘A law change could take years’
Both acknowledge that it will not be a quick fix.
“This could take years,” Victoria admitted. “It’s just about keeping going and gathering more public and parliamentary support.
“It’s about gaining contacts at the moment, which will hopefully end with a private members bill, or some sort of forward motion.”
Katie added that she hopes the movement itself will have a positive impact.
“The law change could take us years, but we are fighting for other things,” she explained.
“The campaign is now blossoming into something that will hopefully educate and promote opportunities to educate riders and dog owners.”
Leash and Release
The name ‘Leash and Release’ was chosen to evoke themes of responsibility and safety for owners of dogs, both on and off the lead.
“We want to achieve leashing laws which protect livestock, horses, other dogs and wildlife. Leash the dog for the encounter and then release when safe. It’s not a call for blanket leashing laws,” said Katie.
“We also want to provide education and opportunities for dog owners, riders and the police to be better equipped to deal with incidents and encounters and to ensure we keep everyone safe, including dogs.
“When you are in the presence of livestock and horses, your dog should be on a lead.”
Leash and Release is set to have a new website live in the early autumn.
“We hope that the website will be a central hub for all the elements of the campaign, where we can share what we are doing and where the campaign is at.”
Main image © Shutterstock
