Defence Weapons Establishment

HC Deb 16 February 1994 vol 237 cc816-7W

Mr. O'Hara

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if live horses have been used in the tests carried out at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down into the efficacy of whips on horses;

(2) which organisation has commissioned the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down to conduct tests on the efficacy of whips on horses;

(3) what is the purpose of testing of the efficacy of whips on horses at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down;

(4) on what date tests commenced at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down on the efficacy of whips on horses; and on what date they finished or will finish.

Mr. Hanley

These are matters for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down—CBDE. I have asked the Chief Executive of CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mr. G. Pearson to Mr. Edward O'Hara, dated 16 February 1994:

1. Your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence asking about the testing of whips involving the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down have been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

2. In June 1993 the Stewards of the Jockey Club established a Working Group to assess whether the current Rules of Racing were adequate to control whip abuse. The Terms of Reference of the Working Group are to promote and co-ordinate further research into the specifications and design of the whip together with methods of assessing possible injury. Because of CBDE's expertise in the development of protective equipment for Service personnel against impacts and explosive blast we were invited by the Animal Health Trust on behalf of the Jockey Club to advise the Whip Working Group on the probable biomechanical principles of impacts to skin by whips and to recommend a simple, objective and scientifically credible test method that can be used to rank whips submitted to the Jockey Club. The Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is acting in a purely advisory role and will not be undertaking the tests on the whips submitted to the Jockey Club. Live horses are not used in any of this advisory work being carried out by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. The tests will be carried out by the Jockey Club or their agents.