On 21 October British Equestrian (BEF) released an update informing stakeholders that a number of UK equine feedstuff manufacturers may be affected by the shipment of molasses which was contaminated with Zilpaterol, a banned substance. This was followed by a statement from the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) which provided further detail around the scale of contamination, the low levels of contaminant in the feed, the risks to equine safety and some of the brands involved.
The BEF has worked on a proactive solution which should assist all parties caught up in this unfortunate situation. With immediate effect, the BEF Board has introduced a 14 day moratorium, during which time any horse that returns a positive result for Zilpaterol through testing at an event will not be subject to any regulatory action under the BEF’s anti-doping rules (known as BEFAR), provided the positive sample is consistent with the feed being contaminated with Zilpaterol. This moratorium period will be kept under constant review and may be extended depending upon updated information relating to the contamination.
This covers horses competing under the national rules of any BEF member bodies who are signed up to BEFAR. Horses competing in international shows are still subject to the rules and testing requirements of the FEI and will not be covered under the moratorium for any such shows.
BEF Chief Executive Iain Graham commented; “This is a situation where reason and logic are required and we’re grateful to the BEF Board and BEFAR technical committee for facilitating this moratorium. BETA and some UK feed brands have worked extensively to provide the facts which were a vital part in the process. We hope that this will put riders’ minds at rest and give time for the feed companies to work with their clients towards eliminating any contaminated feed from the supply chain. My thanks to all concerned.”