UPDATE

I reproduce here in full an article from the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. The comments on both sides of the argument are interesting.

Call for "fundamental rethink" over Appleby fair
Monday, 25 June 2007

DRAMATIC changes are being called for at Appleby New Fair following this year's horse drowning and a record number of complaints.

MP for Penrith and the Border David Maclean is urging a "fundamental rethink" over the fair, while animal welfare charities are calling for the practice of washing horses in the River Eden to be banned.

Mr. Maclean said the fair needed to be turned into "a properly controlled fun festival for a week rather than something where local people put up the shutters and evacuate the area". He said it should also benefit local people and businesses.

"We need a fresh look at this mega event. We can be the only place in the country that gets 30,000 visitors and yet the town council, district council and county council end up out of pocket and we have appalling incidents like the horse drowning and litter on a massive scale," continued the MP.

Mr. Maclean said he had received more complaints this year than ever before but that, with record numbers of people attending, the public authorities had coped as well as could be expected with their limited powers.

Also this week, the British Horse Society and RSPCA have criticised the practice of submerging horses' heads in the River Eden. Lee Hackett, welfare senior executive for the British Horse Society, said: "Witnesses report that the horse's rider repeatedly dunked the animal's head until it failed to re-emerge, causing the rider to flee the scene.

"The drowning of a young horse is clearly abhorrent and, although it would seem to be a tragic one-off event, it is essential steps are taken to ensure it cannot happen again. The practice of completely submerging horses' heads is archaic and serves no clear purpose."

A spokesman for the RSPCA added: "We would back any call to ban the submersion of horses' heads at Appleby as we feel it is unjustified and dangerous."

The spokesman added that they wanted a restriction so no horse would be allowed in the water without a head collar and a head rope, which must be less than a metre long, so increasing the safety of horses.

However, the suggestions have been slated by gypsy traveller spokesman Billy Welch, who said using a rope would pose a serious danger to both horse and owner and had been to blame for the tragic death of the horse at this year's fair.

In the drowning, Mr. Welch claims the horse had a rope around its nose which became caught on its hoof in the water. As the animal struggled, it repeatedly pulled its own head into the water rather than being dunked by the owner. He said the owner was not a part of the travelling community and was simply inexperienced.

"You never go into deep water with a rope on the horse. The lad was trying his best to pull it out. They should only be going in with reins on because, if they get caught, they will snap, but a rope doesn't. The RSPCA are inexperienced in horses. The last thing we want to do is put a horse in danger — it's the opposite of our culture and way of thinking," he said.

"All this is just an excuse for the anti-fair lobbying; it's poor but it's the only one they can grasp," continued Mr. Welch, adding that the tradition of washing horses in the River Eden had been followed for centuries and would never be stopped.

Mr. Welch also commented on the mass of complaints about litter in the town over fair week and said Eden council had just been overwhelmed because of the sheer volume of people — visitors, travellers and gypsies alike.

A number of residents have, in fact, praised the council for the speedy cleanup operation following the end of the fair, with Appleby being described as "spotless".

Daily litter picking, refuse collections and mechanical sweeps were undertaken throughout the fair by Eden District Council, along with introduction of an additional litter picking gang on Tuesday. An estimated two tonnes of litter and rubbish was removed from the town centre each day.