Plans to control illegal grazers

Following the success of an earlier pilot scheme, Sandwell council in the West Midlands is stepping up its plans to reduce the number of horses grazing illegally.

Launched last April, the initial scheme banned people tethering horses on public land. It has proved so successful it’s been extended for another12 months.

A review showed that bailiffs had significantly reduced the number of horses being grazed on public parks and open spaces.

Councillor Bob Badham told the Express and Star: “We have successfully improved the situation. Public parks and open spaces are not suitable for grazing horses, neither for the animals themselves nor members of the public.”

The results of this extended scheme may form the basis of further policies to control horses in the future.

The council is also considering the possibility of introducing a by-law which would make it an offence to tether or graze horses on specified land.

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