Horse Passports

Overview
Under current EU legislation, all horses and ponies must have a passport.

This legislation applies to all horses within the European Union and has been introduced in order to record the administration of any drugs that could have an effect on the safety of horsemeat for human consumption. It also enables the continued use of many medicinal products which otherwise would have to be taken off the shelves.

The ILPH believes that horse passports could prove to be a useful welfare tool, particularly when dealing with cases of abandonment and maltreatment.

We have submitted our recommendations, including our belief that the declaration for human consumption should be signed at the latest possible time (we believe that this should be left unsigned until later in the horses life or at the time that a medicinal product is administered by a vetinary surgeon). We are pleased that Defra have taken this recommendation on board, and we are encouraging other governments and the European Union to follow suit.

A proposal is under discussion in Brussels at this time that would update the existing passport legislation to introduce the use of microchips alongside the passport as a more reliable and cheaper method of identification within the passport system. We hope that these new rules will be agreed by the Member States later this year. The European Commission are looking into this at present.
 

Key Facts

This EU Regulation must be implemented by all Member States of the European Union The rules differ slightly across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland There are over 130 Passport Issuing Organisations in the UK The average cost of a horse passport is £10 - £40 You may be liable to a fine of £5000 if you do not have a passport To download our Q&A on Horse Passports, please click here.

The Future
The ILPH is continuing to monitor the introduction of passport legislation in the UK, and to encourage proposed changes regarding new EU rules on passports which would require the use of microchips.

How Can You Help

• Write to your local MP / MEP / and local press asking them to support ILPH campaign.
• Inform others about this issue, and ask them to support our campaign.
• Contact the ILPH Campaigns Team.