Upcoming Changes in Equine Identification Legislation
Some important changes in the laws relating to horse identification are due to be introduced in the near future.
Currently, racehorse owners are required by law to have a passport for each individual horse that they own.
From 1st July 2009 all equine passport applications must be accompanied by a microchip number.
The microchip is inserted in the horse's neck by a veterinary practitioner, and the microchip number will also be recorded in the passport
Under EU law the horse is a food producing animal and owners are required to keep a record of any medicines administered to the animal
and of the meat withdrawal times of these medications.
If certain useful and sometimes life saving medications are necessary to treat a sick or injured horse,
the administering veterinarian and the owner must sign and stamp the horse's passport to exclude the animal from the food chain.
This is to protect consumers from residues of medicines in the meat.
There are few responsible avenues of disposal of horses when they come to the end of their life.
The animal may be humanely destroyed by a veterinary practitioner and the carcass collected and
disposed of at a Category 2 meat plant. It is not permitted under Irish law to bury horse carcasses
for environmental reasons so the owner must pay to have the carcass safely disposed of in this manner
Slaughter for human consumption is a legitimate avenue of disposal of horses when they come
to the end of their life. Horse slaughter is carried out in a supervised and humane manner at
licensed factories as close to the point of horse production as possible. These factories are inspected
and controlled by Local Authorities. When a horse is slaughtered for human consumption,
it must be accompanied by a valid passport that permits entry to the food chain
At this time it is still possible to obtain a passport for your adult horse that will allow it enter the food chain.
However, from 1st July 2009, all new passports issued for horses over 6 months of age who have never had a passport
will automatically be stamped to prevent the horse from entering the food chain for life. If your horse is an adult
and does not have a passport, you have until 1st July 2009 to apply for and obtain a passport whereby, if you comply
with EU regulations regarding medicine residues, your horse may still enter the food chain when it comes to the end of it's life.
Key Points for Owners:
- If you have undocumented horses, arrange to obtain a passport for each one. If you do this before July 1st 2009 the current rules still apply and your horse will not automatically be excluded from the food chain for life.
- Owners of foals born after 1st July 2009 have a 6 month period to obtain a passport which gives them the option to exclude the animal from the food chain or not
- All passport applications made after 1st July 2009 for horses over 6 months of age at the time of application will be automatically excluded from the food chain for life
- All duplicate or replacement passports issued after 1st July 2009 will automatically exclude the horse from the food chain permanently.
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