§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those units in which Army horses are not allocated, but in which personnel are permitted to hunt in duty hours; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanPersonnel in non-mounted units are not normally permitted to hunt in duty hours.
§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the costs to public funds of equestrian activity in the Army.
§ Mr. FreemanThe information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many horses used by(a) the Household Cavalry and (b) other regiments and retired in each of the past three years have been sold for the purposes of serum production or research or for other experimental purposes; and what are the other destinations for horses unwanted for military purposes.
§ Mr. FreemanNo Army horses have been sold in the past three years for serum production or research or other experimental purposes. Horses that are no longer suitable for military purposes are sold to Army saddle clubs, sold to their riders on grounds of sentiment, sent to a home of rest for horses or humanely destroyed. There are also seven horses which are no longer able to carry out normal ceremonial duties and which are detached to CDE, Porton Down for serum production.
§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the relative participation rates of(a) officers and (b) other ranks in playing polo and hunting on Army horses in duty time.
§ Mr. FreemanArmy horses are not used for playing polo. No central record is kept on the relative participation rate of officers and other ranks in hunting on Army horses in duty time.