BHS_Lee
Active Member
Im afraid I am on after your help again and its another very long post (also in New Lounge)!
I hope that at least some of you already know about BHS Ragwort Awareness Week (RAW) (July 12 18) Some people probably dont though and it is really important that as many people get involved as possible so that we can actually achieve something.
I am sure everybody here knows just how toxic ragwort is to horses and just what a threat it poses. Anybody who has known a horse die of ragwort poisoning wont need reminding. Despite this it seems that ragwort is getting worse and there is more and more of it about. This suggests two things the education message isnt getting through or is being ignored, and the laws surrounding ragwort are not being adequately enforced.
The British Horse Society wants to change this. To effect any sort of change in the law though we need evidence and there is currently no hard data at all on the extent of our ragwort. Without this no government or enforcement agency is going to be interested in introducing new legislation or providing funding to ensure better enforcement of that which already exists. Something needs to be done and we are trying to make a start on that.
So we are asking for people to report any ragwort near to horses (or sheep or cattle) that they see during RAW. We need to know where it is and how many animals are nearby and could be affected. There is lots we will do with such data including identifying and mapping areas where ragwort is most rife (and needs an urgent improvement in law enforcement) and collating the stats that we need to lobby for change. We are doing a one week snapshot survey so that we can directly compare results year on year if we repeat the survey.
So all I am asking is for you to keep your eyes peeled and report ragwort to us. There will be an easy to complete survey on the BHS website (www.bhs.org.uk) during RAW (it isnt there yet as we are focussing on just the one week) and a form was printed in British Horse which BHS members will be able to use. We can also supply paper copies of a form if anybody would like to distribute some.
So please, during the week commencing July 12th, keep your eyes peeled and report ragwort to us. We cant make an immediate improvement but things urgently need to change and this is the first step in that process.
I know just how proactive and helpful HHO users are so I hope you will help - it will backfire terribly if nobody gets involved and we have no data to argue our case with!
Hope this all makes sense thank you in advance to those of you would are willing to get involved.
I hope that at least some of you already know about BHS Ragwort Awareness Week (RAW) (July 12 18) Some people probably dont though and it is really important that as many people get involved as possible so that we can actually achieve something.
I am sure everybody here knows just how toxic ragwort is to horses and just what a threat it poses. Anybody who has known a horse die of ragwort poisoning wont need reminding. Despite this it seems that ragwort is getting worse and there is more and more of it about. This suggests two things the education message isnt getting through or is being ignored, and the laws surrounding ragwort are not being adequately enforced.
The British Horse Society wants to change this. To effect any sort of change in the law though we need evidence and there is currently no hard data at all on the extent of our ragwort. Without this no government or enforcement agency is going to be interested in introducing new legislation or providing funding to ensure better enforcement of that which already exists. Something needs to be done and we are trying to make a start on that.
So we are asking for people to report any ragwort near to horses (or sheep or cattle) that they see during RAW. We need to know where it is and how many animals are nearby and could be affected. There is lots we will do with such data including identifying and mapping areas where ragwort is most rife (and needs an urgent improvement in law enforcement) and collating the stats that we need to lobby for change. We are doing a one week snapshot survey so that we can directly compare results year on year if we repeat the survey.
So all I am asking is for you to keep your eyes peeled and report ragwort to us. There will be an easy to complete survey on the BHS website (www.bhs.org.uk) during RAW (it isnt there yet as we are focussing on just the one week) and a form was printed in British Horse which BHS members will be able to use. We can also supply paper copies of a form if anybody would like to distribute some.
So please, during the week commencing July 12th, keep your eyes peeled and report ragwort to us. We cant make an immediate improvement but things urgently need to change and this is the first step in that process.
I know just how proactive and helpful HHO users are so I hope you will help - it will backfire terribly if nobody gets involved and we have no data to argue our case with!
Hope this all makes sense thank you in advance to those of you would are willing to get involved.
