Can i legally bury my horse at home?

[Headpiece]

anyone know? (oh and home means in the paddock btw)

just wondering, with all the legislation tightening regarding fallen animals, will i be able to when the time comes, or who do i contact for licences or permission?

 

[OWLIE185]

Provided your horse is a pet and the site does not lie in a water course you may bury your horse on your wown land.

 

[Tammytoo]

Provided your horse is a pet and the site does not lie in a water course you may bury your horse on your wown land.

This.

 

[Miss L Toe]

poor boy, just do it.

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

you need to prove that the horse is a pet, and be midful of the water table.

We're on peat and the boys (and girl) were not going to leave our land! They have stayed at home with us for years!

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

The rules changed last year. Check with your local authority / DEFRA before going ahead.

Previously as long as the animal was a pet and it was away from any water course you were fine. This in not the case now and DEFRA tend to pass the buck to the local authority.

Do not just go ahead without permission or you could be in line for prosecution and a bill for the costs of removal of the carcass.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

This is from the DEFRA website under the Fallen Stock section, page was modifield 5 Dec 2011 so should be up to date tho you can never tell with DEFRA who have a lot of crappy archived pages. But this content does refer to recent changes so believe this is the up to date position. And it is good news!

http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/managing-disease/animalbyproducts/fallen-stock-faq.htm

"Q10: Is it possible to bury dead pet animals?

A: Yes. The EU Control Regulation allows member States to apply various derogations regarding the disposal of animal by-products (ABPs) and, amongst others the Government has applied the derogation to permit the burial of dead pet animals. The definition of a pet animal in the EU Control Regulation is 'any animal belonging to species normally nourished and kept, but not consumed, by humans for purposes other than farming'. Normal farm species such as sheep, cattle, pigs, goats and poultry fall outside this definition and must be disposed of by an approved route other than burial.

Q11: What controls are there on the burial of horses?

A: Under the previous ABP legislation, the burial of horses was only permitted if they had been kept as pets.

In England it is now permitted for all horses to be buried, whether they are pets or not. In Scotland and Wales only pet horses may be buried. Before burying a horse, advice should be sought on the correct procedure e.g. on deciding the location of the burial site to take account of factors such as livestock access and the potential for leaching into watercourses.
Further advice is available from the Environment Agency (EA)website."

Couldnt find anything on EA website. Council animal health/trading standards may have their own interpretation but the basic guidance previously was:

"at least 250m away from any well borehole or spring that supplies water
at least 30m from any other spring or watercourse, and at least 10m from a field drain
have at least 1m of subsoil below the bottom of the burial pit, allowing a hole deep enough for at least 1m of soil to cover the carcass
when first dug, the bottom of the hole must be free of water"
(source 2002 animal by products regs)