The owner of a seaside donkey ride business says he has been forced to weigh children before letting them on the animals due to rising obesity among young kids.
John Nuttall, whose firm operates in Lincolnshire, says youngsters are required to step on a set of scales to ensure they do not break a six-stone (38kg) weight limit.
The 61-yea-rold said he fears heavier weight loads might harm his mules, who take holidaymakers on trips across Skegness and Cleethorpes beaches.
Mr Nuttall, whose family has been operating donkey rides for more than 100 years, now has scales next to his mobile paddock.
A sign reads that riders must be under the age of ten, shorter than 4ft 6in (1.4m) and meet the weight limit – before they can take a £4 trip on the animals.
Mr Nuttall said: ‘We introduced the scales because we noticed that the kids were getting larger, if you like. Everything is at the entrance to the pen – the height, the signage, the scales, and you can actually see the parents checking their own kids.
John Nuttall, who operates in Skegness and Cleethorpes, is pictured with some of his donkeys
Rules for riding the donkeys, which take children across Skegness and Cleethorpes beaches
John Nuttall said his family has been operating donkey rides for more than 100 years
A sign reads that riders must be under ten, shorter than 4ft 6in (1.4m) and meet a weight limit
‘But if the odd one or two come through, we do just say ‘Can we check you please’, with our guidance, and if they’re too heavy, they’re too heavy – and that’s it.’
He added: ‘The donkeys are better for it, and they’re not going to knacker them out. I have just done it to protect my animals, and I’m sorry if I upset anyone, but that’s the rules and that’s it.’
Figures from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health showed obesity levels among reception children, aged four to five, were at 9.2 per cent in England last year.
Those in year six – aged ten to 11 – had an obesity level of 22.7 per cent.
The organisation also revealed that for children living in the most deprived areas, obesity prevalence was twice as high.
In the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, which includes Skegness, NHS data showed 20 per cent of ten and 11-year-olds were obese last year.
John Nuttall said scales were introduced because ‘we noticed that the kids were getting larger’
John Nuttall’s daughter Thalia (left) with a donkey involved in the business in Lincolnshire
Mr Nuttall, who has three sons and a daughter, put the high levels of obesity down to children not being as active as previous generations.
He said: ‘I think a lot of it is to do with the internet and stuff like that. They don’t have to go outside and kick a ball around, they can play it quite easily on a computer, and junk food contributes to it.
‘My lot were always active. All my kids were always doing something, they still are – still running marathons. But we can’t help it, that’s the way the world is going at the moment.’
Mr Nuttall said his licence allowed children who were up to the age of 15 and weighed 8st to ride donkeys, but he didn’t want his animals to suffer.
He added: ‘I decided to drop it to my rule if you like. We also have to do health and safety checks and everything, and part of the licensing agreement is that we have to assess each rider for each donkey.
Mr Nuttall said he was putting the welfare of his donkeys first and would not be backing down
John Nuttall, who runs a seaside donkey ride business in Lincolnshire, with one of his animals
‘If we think the rider has got no balance and is a bit top heavy, that’s going to be dangerous for the kids to slip off. We don’t want any insurance claims as well.’
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said it was ‘completely unacceptable to weigh a child in public and then say they can’t go on a ride’.
She told BBC News that the ‘environment that surrounds children’ was to blame for high obesity levels, adding: ‘It’s the unhealthy food and drink that they have on their plates, in their high streets, in their schools.
‘That’s where we should be focussing our attention to try and improve what children are being given, rather than embarrassing them about their size.’
But Mr Nuttall said he was putting the welfare of his mules first. He added: ‘It’s alright getting all these obesity society people saying this, but at the end of the day, they’re my donkeys.
Mr Nuttall said his licence allowed children who were up to the age of 15 to ride donkeys
Mr Nuttall now has scales next to his mobile paddock on the beach to help protect the donkeys
‘You go in the fairground rides and there are height limits and everything – and they’re not getting moaned at. Although we’re not getting moaned at, people do agree with what I’m doing, they understand it’s a welfare issue.’
He also told BBC News: ‘Some are just too big to ride a donkey. My donkeys work hard enough for me. The welfare of the animals has to come first.’
Ms Jenner also said children were being ‘exploited’ by fast food companies through advertising on TV, and called on the next government to prioritise children’s welfare following the general election on July 4.
She said: ‘Clearly the welfare of the donkeys is very important, but so is the welfare of our children – many of which are being exploited by companies aggressively marketing and promoting unhealthy food.
‘Whether that’s on TV, in the shops, on our high streets and even in schools, this bombardment of unhealthy food at every turn leads to excess weight gain which damages their long term health.
‘Just as John Nuttall is prioritising the welfare of his animals, whoever is in government next month, should use their powers to compel these companies to prioritise children’s welfare above their profits.