British Horse Society (BHS) goes 'RAW' in 2003!

Following on from the success of the British Horse Society's annual campaign, to control the deadly weed, Root out Ragwort Week, comes RAW - Ragwort Awareness Week, which will be launched on Thursday 24 July at the BHS owned Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, West Sussex.

RAW will run from 21 - 27 July this year and its aims are simple; to take the campaign to control Ragwort to a higher level! Thanks to the BHS many people can now recognise Ragwort and realise that the weed can cause death to horses, ponies, cattle and other livestock. RAW aims to raise the political awareness of the campaign and has already got off to a flying start with a Ragwort Bill going forward to Report Stage and Third Reading (set for 11 July) in the House of Lords.

The Private Members' Bill, known as the Ragwort Control Bill, aims to provide statutory guidance on how to prevent the spread of Ragwort through a code of practice, and the BHS is confident that if the Bill succeeds it will make a positive difference in controlling the spread of Ragwort.

Hot off the press this week are two new Ragwort leaflets produced by the BHS. The first, A Guide to Ragwort, contains information for horse owners about the plant, ways of controlling it and useful contacts. The second, A Guide to Ragwort for Landowners and Occupiers, looks at the options available to people who have Ragwort on their land and what responsibilities they have to remove the weed.

To receive a leaflet please send an A5 sae to the Welfare Department, British Horse Society, Stoneleigh Deer Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2XZ, marked 'A Guide to Ragwort' or 'A Guide to Ragwort for Landowners and Occupiers'.

For further information on Ragwort and RAW visit www.bhs.org.uk

www.bhs.org.uk

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