Horse Passports

 

The Government announced in February 2002 that all horses, ponies and other forms of equidae (e.g. donkeys) would be required to have a passport identifying them.  These passports will last the lifetime of the animal.  They are required in order to implement the Commission Decision 2000/68/EC, which aims to prevent horses entering the human food chain if they have been administered any veterinary medicines that are not intended for use on food producing animals.

Each horse will be given a Unique Equine Life Number and this must appear on the passport which positively identifies them.  This number is supplied by the organisation issuing the passport.  These passport regulations took effect from June 2004. All horses and donkeys (over the age of four months) should now be in possession of a valid passport, (or have applied for one). This passport should be with your horse at all times. When attending veterinary surgeons treat your horse they will have to see this passport and if the declaration states that he is NOT intended for human consumptions then very little has changed.  However if this declaration states that he is intended for human consumption or 'undeclared' then they may have to record the drugs that they administer.  In some circumstances if they leave drugs (e.g. Phenylbutazone for you to administer, then you, as the person who actually gives the drug have to fill out the passport entry).  When a horse dies the passport must be returned to the Paasport Issuing Organisation, who will stamp it as invalid and inform the National Equine Database (NED). 

Microchips

All foals born in 2009 will have to be microchipped by the 31st of December 2009, (or within six months of birth, -which ever is later).  All new passports issued for adult horses after that date will be required to be checked for the presence of microchips and if none are found, they will now also have to have one implanted.  It is currently proposed that microchips can only be implanted by veterinary surgeons.

 

 

There has been a major benefit from this leglislation for the horse owning public in that we now have a government funded central database (www.nedonline.co.uk) which currently holds the details of all the horses, eg. Name, breed, sex, colour, Unique Equine Lifetime Number (UELN) and which in due course will even be able to contain details on an individual horse's pedigree and competition history!

 

In Summary:

 

• All horses MUST now have a valid passport.

• It is an offence to sell a horse without a passport.

• If you buy a horse you MUST register yourself as the new owner within thirty days or face prosecution.

• Owners of horses without passports can face a fine of £5,000.00p

• It is a legal requirement to return your passport to the issuing organisation when your horse dies.

• All equines requiring new passport applications must now firstly be microchipped by a veterinary surgeon.

• A horse may not be transported without his /her passport. 

• Anyone who is asked to produce a horse pasport has THREE hours to do so, (Livery yard owners please take note).

• For further information on the National Equine Database, including a list of the Passport Issuing Organisations (PIO's), please contact www.nedonline.co.uk.