Consultation on equine ID shake up is of ‘pivotal importance’
Welcoming DEFRA’s consultation to seek the public’s views on the UK Government's proposals for improving equine identification and traceability in England.
Posted on 06/04/2022
Share
World Horse Welfare welcomes DEFRA’s consultation, launched on 5th April 2022, to seek the public’s views on the UK Government’s proposals for improving equine identification and traceability in England.
DEFRA acknowledges in the consultation that the data on the current Central Equine Database – which should contain up-to-date details of all equines resident in the UK – is inaccurate and incomplete, for a number of reasons, including the fact that horse identification documents (passports) are paper-based.
Among the proposals that DEFRA is consulting on is allowing equine owners and keepers to update their horses’ passport details online or via a smartphone app, free of charge.
“Ever since the 2013 horsemeat scandal we have highlighted the pivotal importance of a shake-up in equine ID. The current system is simply not working and having a simple, effective digital system is vital to underpin many aspects of the enforcement of animal health and welfare regulations, not least being able to trace a horse suffering from poor welfare back to the person responsible for it.
“DEFRA now has a fantastic window of opportunity to get it right and we encourage anyone connected to horses to take part in the consultation. By so doing, you will have your voice heard and be contributing to a change for the better for horse welfare.”
Roly Owers, World Horse Welfare Chief Executive
Anyone in England can respond to the consultation, which launched on April 5th, but the charity is cautioning that the consultation questions may not be easily accessible due to the technical language used. However, anyone wanting their say will have the ability to share their views through a simpler survey World Horse Welfare helped to develop and being launched by the British Horse Council very shortly. The aim of the survey is to collect the views of all those involved with horses and feed them back into the DEFRA consultation.
The consultation is only for England at this point in time, and World Horse Welfare is working with the equine sector to encourage governmental counterparts in Scotland and Wales to follow suit and develop an integrated, workable and efficient system with linkages between GB and the EU that will drive enforcement on non-compliant equine keepers and movements through an intelligence-led approach, whilst making it far easier for compliant keepers to keep the system up-to-date.
The consultation can be found on the DEFRA website and details of the British Horse Council/World Horse Welfare survey will be released imminently.
Share
Topics
Related News
Outrage as more horses being smuggled out of the UK are intercepted a year after we rescued 26 from similar circumstances
Smuggled horses discovered once again despite Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024
How our charity is making sure horse smuggling remains on the political agenda
We visit Westminster to talk with MPs about how they can help to disrupt this cruel trade.
Recommended Blog Posts
The importance of foals having good experiences from birth
Foals born in our rescue and rehoming centres will receive expert, patient handling from day one – we caught up with yard supervisor Lorraine to hear more.
Empathy, education, and evidence: the take-home messages from our 25th annual conference
Find out how an international line up of speakers explored “When does use become abuse?”.
What does biosecurity mean and how do you quarantine a new horse?
Research and Education Officer Alana Chapman shares simple steps you can take to prevent an outbreak of disease on your yard.
Enjoy reading stories like this?
Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter
Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter
Sign me up now
