Equine News

Equine Passport Scheme

The Horse Passports Regulations 2004, which came into effect on 28th February 2005, requires all horse owners to obtain a passport for each horse you own.  The introduction of the legislation will bring the UK in line with laws across the European Union.  The legislation underpins a robust control system to ensure that horses which have been treated with veterinary medicines not authorised for use in food-producing animals, cannot enter the human food chain.  Moreover, it will contribute to allowing the UK horse industry to continue to use such medicines on horses not intended for the human food chain.  Veterinary authorities have stressed the importance of this measure for horse welfare.  DEFRA states that is is legal responsibility of the horse owner to ensure that the passport is correct and the legislation adhered to.  This means that we can and will continue to treat and, if necessary euthanase a horse that is not accompanied with a passport, but this is not preferable.  If this is the case, we will issue you with a form that will list the treatments the horse has received with a declaration to enter the information into the passport.

Westmorland Veterinary Group encourages all our clients to bring their passport with them to their veterinary appointment.

• Every horse, pony or donkey must have a passport.

• No passport and owners will be breaking the law.

• Vets will not be able to prescribe certain drugs for equines without a passport.

• Passports must be from a DEFRA approved Horse Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO).

• No horse or pony may be sold without a passport.

• Passports should accompany the horse when travelling.

Horses may only have one passport, existing passports may be valid and not need any additional paperwork, check with the passport issuer. Vaccination certificates which include a silhouette may be sent to some PIOs for overstamping. Please note that at the time of writing height certificates issued by the JMB do not constitute a recognised passport.

If you do not have a passport, you need to do something NOW.

It is important to register with a breed society if your horse is of known breeding, so it may compete in breed or show classes, or if you decide to breed from the animal in the future.

Both Westmorland and Tithe Barn hold a list of Passport Issuing Organisations.

If your horse is of unknown origin and not eligible to be registered with a recognised breed society, Pet-ID/JRC Defra approved  passports can be obtained from the practice . Horses may be brought to Tithe Barn at Kirkby Lonsdale. Although a silhouette is the required method of identification for passports, this practice wishes to encourage the use of microchipping for identification. More than 2.5million dogs and cats are microchipped in the UK. For the last few years every thoroughbred foal registered at Weatherbys has had to be microchipped. Vets,  animal centres, local authorities, the police and a network of over  50 master saddlers are all equipped with scanners to read the ISO standard chip.

Please feel free to speak to any of the vets or nurses if you require more information.

If a valid horse passport is not available at the time of treatment of the horse. We are therefore obliged under the “Horse Passports (England) Regulations 2004” to notify you in writing of any medicines administered containing substances not included (for any food producing species) in Annexes I, II or III of European Council Regulation 2377/90 and give written notification that administration of these medicines must be recorded in the Section IX pages of the above horse’s passport if the horse is declared as “intended for slaughter for human consumption” or “undeclared”. In those circumstances the following substances administered to or, prescribed or dispensed for, the above horse need to be so recorded by you along with the date of the last administration of any of these substances.

See VMD list for complete and up to date list of medicines included and not included  www.vmd.gov.uk

Further information can be obtained on the BEVA website www.beva.org.uk