I welcome to the meeting Mr. Kevin Smith, president, Ms Barbara Micks and Mr. Ian Scott of the Racing Club of Ireland and Ms Sharon Newsome and Ms Evelyn Branagh from the Irish Horse Welfare Trust. Copies of the presentations by your organisations have been circulated. I draw witnesses' attention to the fact that while members of this committee have absolute privilege, the same privilege does not apply to them. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against persons outside the House or an official by name in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I call on Mr. Smith to proceed with his presentation.
Equine Welfare: Presentations.
Mr. Kevin Smith
Thank you. The Racing Club of Ireland was incorporated in March 1982 as a voluntary body, primarily to promote fair play for racegoers and punters, which at that time mainly concerned the integrity of racehorse performances. It was an era when there were demonstrations outside weigh-rooms and many courses around the country. Betting tax rates stood at 20%, while racecourses provided very poor facilities and betting offices were little more than hovels. As the club developed, it took on board issues of human and equine welfare and raised in excess of €80,000 for the jockeys accident fund; Cherry Orchard horse and rider project; Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre in the United Kingdom, a forerunner of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust; Fettercairn horse and rider project; Festina Lente, Bray; Irish Horse Welfare Trust; and Riding for the Disabled Ireland. We also provided awards for outstanding achievements in the sport and were honoured by the then President, Mary Robinson, presenting the Racing Club of Ireland awards in 1996. At the end of this summary, I will return briefly to the racing club itself.
I will now concentrate on the issue of equine welfare, which we addressed over the years in three parts - abuse of horses in general; abuse of horses when racing; abuse of horses when not racing. The third of these, particularly where the export of live horses for slaughter and attendant suffering of the animals is concerned, is at the heart of this presentation which is by way of introduction to the presentation of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust, the organisation which has carried out most of the fieldwork.
The current position on the export of live horses for slaughter from Ireland can be summarised in the following four statements from Department of Agriculture and Food correspondence: (i) Ireland has a policy of not exporting horses for slaughter; (ii) export licences are not issued for slaughter purposes; (iii) such trade is, however, not illegal; and (iv) there is a tripartite agreement between Ireland, France and the United Kingdom for the free movement of animals.
The trade continues, however, as is confirmed by direct evidence from the RSPCA in the United Kingdom and others who will be referred to in the Irish Horse Welfare Trust presentation. On 22 February 2002, The Irish Times recorded “the Central Statistics Office confirms the trade exists, with €1.8 million worth of horse exports for slaughter registered with the Revenue in the 10 months up to October 2002”. On 6 March, The Irish Times again quoted from a European Commission Food and Veterinary Office report which “details the findings of animal welfare inspections in France last June [and] refers not only to Irish horses being transported through the country en route to the abattoir but to possible breaches of welfare on the resting and feeding”, and that on at least one occasion in 2001, a consignment of horses destined for Italy was not rested at the proposed staging point.
Parliamentary questions were raised, at our request, by then Deputy Alan Dukes and Deputy Olivia Mitchell, on the subjects of minimum value for export licence. In the United Kingdom, in order to avoid this export of horses for slaughter, a minimum value of £715 has been imposed. No such value applies here. The parliamentary questions sought the numbers of thoroughbreds and non-thoroughbreds exported over the previous ten years. The replies confirmed that no minimum value was required for an export licence in Ireland and produced tables of figures from the Central Statistics Office with the rider that they were "unreliable and incomplete".
On 15 April 2003, in reply to an EU parliamentary question raised by Avril Doyle, MEP, on our behalf, Commissioner Byrne stated that a mission intended to investigate the movement of equidae to Ireland was carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office between 25 and 29 November 2002. He stated: "However, the mission could not, as initially planned, investigate the movement of equidae, but had to concentrate on long distance international transport of cattle." We believe that had the mission been able to carry out the intended investigation, there would now be a case to answer in European law. Avril Doyle has tabled a follow-up question asking when this investigation will take place and as of this morning, has not yet received a reply.
The whole area is a mess. In order to effectively address this problem, we are convinced that the following measures are required: (i) There is a need for legislation to outlaw the export of live horses for slaughter; (ii) a legal requirement for minimum value of at least €1,000 or, probably more realistically, €1,500, and microchip identification for traceability before an export licence is issued; (iii) an audit system to validate the quality and continuous operation of control procedures because we doubt their efficacy currently; and (iv) an investigation into the movement of horses within the tripartite agreement countries, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, with recommendations for mutual co-operation in addressing the problems associated with the transportation of live horses for slaughter.
In India and other countries, the cow is a sacred animal. The status of the horse in Ireland must be close to that because it is very much associated with this country. As the legendary jockey, Lester Piggott, stated, only partly in jest, when we presented him with a Racing Club of Ireland par excellence award in the 1990s, “You Irish should look after your horses because the only thing you have more of is potatoes.”
After 21 years of entirely voluntary work on behalf of the consumer, the racegoer-punter, in the horse racing industry, the Racing Club of Ireland did not accept membership applications this year as part of a winding down procedure, the need for which was brought about by two main factors. These were that the club had largely achieved the objectives for which it was founded and my retirement as president and Ian Scott's as chairman meant nobody was available to undertake the large amount of work required on a voluntary basis. However, a core group of members has remained together under the style "Friends of Horseracing" and the Racing Club of Ireland continues to exist until legally we are allowed to close it down.
The Irish Horse Welfare Trust will now make its presentation.
Ms Sharon Newsome
The Irish Horse Welfare Trust is an organisation dedicated to the protection of horses in Ireland. The founder members have been working actively for several years and the trust gained charitable status in 2002. In 1999, the trust took a complaint to the European Commission on breaches of animal welfare legislation regarding horses used in drugs trials. This course of action was only taken because we had gone down every channel we could in Ireland with the Department of Agriculture and Food, and we could get nowhere. We had no alternative but to go to the European Commission. Our complaint formed part of the infringement proceedings taken against Ireland and Ireland was subsequently condemned in the European Court of Justice. We have just been notified that this has resulted in new legislation being adopted in Ireland to fully comply with the directives. Hopefully that will solve the problem.
We have been working on this campaign against the export for slaughter of horses for the past number of years and feel today's meeting is our last chance in Ireland to try to get something done about it. There is a State ban on the export of horses of all ages for slaughter and the Department of Agriculture and Food has confirmed to us on numerous occasions that it does not grant licences for slaughter and that Ireland does not export horses for slaughter. However, we can prove that such trade exists.
We have corresponded with the Department since October 1999 as detailed in our report. There are campaigns throughout Europe to end the transportation of horses for slaughter. Despite the State policy, Ireland has not only allowed it to continue, but does not enforce European legislation laid down for the protection of these animals. The United Kingdom has a minimal value system in place which effectively stops the trade. As detailed in this report, it can be shown that Irish horses are regularly exported to the United Kingdom for slaughter and have been exported as far as Italy because there are no controls in place to prevent it. In this trade there are breaches of European legislation on the welfare of animals during transportation and there are also breaches of European legislation regarding the traceability of meat.
The following measures are required. Legislation to ban the export of horses for slaughter is needed to back up State policy. Current European legislation on the movement and identification of equidae must be implemented and enforced. A minimal value system, similar to that operated in the United Kingdom, must include transfers between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and France because cross-Border co-operation is essential to gain control over this trade.
According to the Department, there is "free movement of horses by tripartite agreement between Ireland, UK and France. Horses may travel on their passports-ID marking sheet and a welfare certificate obtained at the port of exit". We found this control is not enforced. This is confirmed, for example, by the departure of a consignment of Irish horses from Dublin on 25 January 2002. When checked by British police outside Holyhead in conjunction with the RSPCA, they were found to be without individual identification papers. This was in breach of European legislation. The horses were being transferred by an agent of an abattoir owner in the United Kingdom.
The European legislation states, "All equidae must be accompanied during their movement by an identification document, in particular, if destined for slaughter. Furthermore, in the case of movement of equidae other than registered equidae from one member state to another, the movement must be recorded in the computerised animal movement information system, AMINO, to ensure traceability". The previous legislation also required passports or marking sheets.
In addition, under European directives, journey times are limited to eight hours. All journeys over eight hours can only be carried out in a "special vehicle". Most horses leaving Ireland do not travel by "special vehicle" and usually travel on cattle lorries based on our observations. Journeys to the United Kingdom average 18 or 25 hours, depending on whether the point of departure is a Northern or Southern port, in what are often substandard vehicles without food or water. An RSPCA undercover surveillance report of January 2001 gives details of such a substandard vehicle overloaded with horses travelling from Dublin directly to an abattoir in the United Kingdom, where the animals were unloaded for slaughter.
Under European legislation horses must be rested, fed and watered following transportation by sea in a road vehicle, between journeys, prior to slaughter, for a period of 24 hours. Consignments of Irish horses have been unloaded directly for slaughter, as confirmed by the RSPCA undercover surveillance report in 2001. Ten horses travelled from Dublin and, for the duration of the journey, went without food or water in a substandard vehicle for 17 hours and were unloaded directly for slaughter. This represents a breach of European legislation by the United Kingdom.
A recent report by the Europe Commission details the findings of animal welfare inspections in France where a consignment of Irish horses was found to be destined for an Italian abattoir with possible breaches of animal welfare directives. The reference number for this FVO mission in June 2002 is DG (SANCO) 1166/1999 MR Final. The report in full is available on its website. This proves, therefore, that Irish horses can be sent anywhere for slaughter. They can be sent to Italy which is at least a four day trip and are not even guaranteed basic animal welfare provisions.
Our surveillance indicates that Irish agents for UK abattoirs advertise regularly in newspapers such as the Irish Farmers Journal and The Irish Field. It is not difficult to find out who is involved in this trade. One only has to make a few telephone calls based on the newspaper advertisements. During 2001, IR£500 was being paid per head for horses averaging 16 hands with average live weight of 500 kg for export. They were collected at various points in Ireland to go to the United Kingdom for slaughter. The equivalent price in euro was paid in 2002. The main collection points are counties Wexford, Laois and Kildare. Consignments of horses leave Ireland for slaughter in the United Kingdom weekly, sometimes twice weekly, and are collected from these points and others.
The average transport time monitored from collection points in Ireland to ferry ports within the Republic is eight hours prior to sailing. Travelling time is even longer if they pass through Northern Ireland ports. The average sailing times from ports in the Republic to the United Kingdom is three hours while the average transportation time within the United Kingdom is a further five to nine hours depending on which abattoir is used. Based on surveillance conducted by us, between 23 January 2002 and 24 February 2002, five consignments comprising 18 horses each were exported from Ireland by one UK abattoir owner which represented a total of 90 horses in less than a month.
All the horses exported for slaughter are exported as "riding horses". We have found horses being fattened in Ireland for export for slaughter in United Kingdom. We received a complaint about horses being kept in bad conditions in a shed, which we investigated. We found a dozen fat horses in a shed and the owner openly told us they were being fattened for slaughter. He was waiting for a telephone call to have them shipped through Northern Ireland to an abattoir in the south of England.
We have seen Irish horses purchased at sales by somebody who we believe has in the past and up until recently exported horses for slaughter to Italy and they were put on a scales before they were bought. Statistics for export of live horses for slaughter are available from CSO which only has figures for horses declared for the purposes of Intrastat. Unless one exports above a certain threshold in monetary terms, one does not have to fill out an Intrastat form. Those figures are, therefore, on the low side.
According to our observations some trucks are inaccessible for the purposes of inspections by officials. We have found large trucks containing 18 horses and an elderly gentleman at the port is expected to climb on board to examine the horses to see if they are fit to travel. Substandard trucks - cattle trucks with no partitions - were used, particularly those vehicles exiting Northern Ireland ports. The trucks are overcrowded with no partitions, water, fodder or ventilation. Stolen horses are easily transported from Ireland to the United Kingdom without trace because of the lack of controls over the movement of horses between both states. We have worked closely with the owners of stolen horses, most of whom believed their horses had been shipped to the United Kingdom. This theft has caused heartbreak in families.
The document we circulated outlines what we have done to highlight this campaign. Questions have been tabled in the Dáil and the European Parliament. Several articles have been published in the newspapers and the issue has been debated on radio and television. People have an affinity with horses. We have a world renowned reputation for the production of the finest horses. Horses may fall between the categories of agricultural animals and other animals but they do not receive fair treatment in thelive trade. Something needs to be done about this.
I thank Ms Newsome for her detailed presentation.
I thank the Chairman for facilitating the attendance of the various groups whose members I welcome. I was not familiar with the issue of horses being exported for slaughter until I came across the article in The Irish Times.
I congratulate the Racing Club of Ireland on the work it has done. It is unusual to see an organisation winding up. Mr. Smith has stated it has achieved many of its objectives. Anyone who has attended a race meeting will have seen how facilities have improved. I am sure the organisation assisted to a great degree in this. I acknowledge that all voluntary organisations are experiencing increasing difficulties in finding people willing to give up their time. I do not know if this is because everyone must work outside the home these days and there is a greater demand on people's time.
Regarding the export issue, we have an affinity with horses and the thought of them ending up on the dinner plate is not palatable to us. That said, perhaps the argument could be made that they should be treated in the same way as cattle. What happens to animals that are earmarked for export but are not transported subsequently? If my research is correct, the Racing Club of Ireland tries to rehabilitate them and give them to families who may need them. What happens to these animals if they are left here?
Who exports the animals? I do not expect the witnesses to name people. I can look up the advertisements in the newspapers, although I am not familiar with them. What format do the advertisements take? Do they state clearly that animals are being sought for export and slaughter and that they will be collected and so on? What are they used for when they are slaughtered? Is it for animal food or do they enter the human food chain?
I thank the witnesses for their presentation and the issues they raised. We will certainly follow up the matter because there is an anomaly in that our policy is not to export for slaughter. Obviously from the witnesses' evidence, there is no doubt there is a contradiction.
We will take all the questions together and the witnesses can then reply.
I welcome the groups and thank them for their presentations. I have an interest in two items referred to by the Racing Club of Ireland. One relates to the jockeys' accident fund. A cousin of mine, a young man by the name of James Maunsell, of whom the witnesses may have heard, was cared for very well by the fund. These matters happen quietly behind the scenes and are greatly appreciated.
The second item is the Cherry Orchard horse and rider project based in my constituency of Dublin South Central where it has made a huge difference. It is widely recognised in the area as being of enormous benefit to young people. While a young fellow on a horse is occasionally to be seen out on the streets, there is something about the project that is above and beyond the commitment that one might even have hoped for. It has been very successful. On this and other projects mentioned in the presentation, the group is to be congratulated.
It is harrowing to listen to the description of what happens to horses sent for export and the way they are so badly treated. There is a high level of awareness of the export of live cattle. This is an issue of concern about which we hear a great deal. The export of horses occurs on a much smaller scale, and it is only because the group has highlighted it in the recent past and I have read some of the articles in the newspapers, that my level of awareness of the business has been raised.
The points set out in the presentation by the witnesses about how the problem might be addressed are very good, and methods such as traceability and a microchip for identification make it possible to trace movements of horses. If something so simple could be enforced, we would be able to trace back to the people to whom Deputy Timmins referred and find out where these animals originated. The points the group set out are very straightforward and are something to which I subscribe. I will do everything I can to support their actions.
I endorse the comments of my colleagues and thank both groups for their presentations. I am aware of the outstanding work done by the Racing Club of Ireland since the early 1980s. Like Deputy Upton, I am especially aware of its work in Cherry Orchard and Fettercairn. I know the Racing Apprentice Centre of Education, with which I am sure the group is also familiar, had an involvement through the late Derek O'Sullivan. The group has done wonderful work in a number of areas for which the industry and the public can be grateful. It is a pity the organisation is winding up.
I was not aware of the export of horses for slaughter. I recall in the 1970s being shocked to discover that a number of ponies sold from my farm had been exported for slaughter. It is something of which I was acutely aware at the time, but I was not aware there was an ongoing trade. This is an issue the committee could usefully investigate. Any legislation brought forward would have to be based on a detailed investigation by the Department and others into the nature of this trade, which is repulsive to most.
What useful purpose can the stock being exported be put to otherwise and how can we minimise the number of horses meeting this end? Most of them are owned by farmers or thoroughbred training establishments and there is an economic aspect to this which must be addressed. Is it feasible to engage with the people involved in this trade? I doubt they have a formal representative organisation, but if they could be identified, it might be useful to invite them to a meeting to hear what they have to say and to see how we could devise legislation to address the issue.
I welcome the delegations and compliment them on their achievements. There is no doubt that great work has been done and it is a pity to see the Racing Club of Ireland winding up.
The horse is a revered animal in Ireland. There was a time when, apart from being a sporting animal, it was essential to the economy. I am aware of some of what has been happening. There is a great lady in Waterford, Siobhán Brady, who is a good friend of mine and takes a great interest in horse welfare. I am aware of the work she does. I was not aware of the export of horses for slaughter and it is horrible to think that an animal like the horse could end its days in this way.
I do not have an answer but will certainly work with the committee to make the Department aware of what is happening and do whatever I can to assist the group in bringing about some type of acceptable solution. The nature of the information we have been given is appalling.
Having listened to the presentations, I am horrified by the way these horses are treated. Strict regulations are in place for the export of calves, cattle, sheep and pigs. Why are horses excluded? It is very annoying. I ask Mr. Smith to reply first.
Mr. Smith
There are a few levels to this. One was referred to previously as overproduction. From the thoroughbred viewpoint, Horse Racing Ireland has become very concerned about overproduction and is investigating means of controlling production. When that is done and there are horses that do not make the grade or whatever - I am speaking about thoroughbred animals in particular - no one has any problem with them being put down humanely in proper abattoir facilities in this country. Sometimes, that is all that can be done. The second level is where horses can be rehabilitated. In Britain three organisations do this, the foremost being the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre. In terms of Cherry Orchard, we brought over Desert Orchid in conjunction with the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre. That is where the money for Cherry Orchard came from, in association with dinners we organised. Desert Orchid raised over £25,000 in a very short time and the sum was split between various charities.
With the proper funding - we have been fighting with Horseracing Ireland to get funding for the Irish Horse Welfare Trust - horses, thoroughbred and non-thoroughbred, can be put to many different uses. They can be re-homed with people who can look after them. They can be retrained for dressage and eventing. A thoroughbred has to be trained to be suitable for other purposes.
The last thing we want to see is horses being sent out of the country and badly treated en route. If they must be slaughtered here and the meat exported, I have no problem with that provided it is done humanely. The animals must not suffer the trauma of travelling.
The position in Ireland is ridiculous. A policy has existed since 1964 under which Irish horses are not exported for slaughter. Officials of the Department will tell the committee that it will not issue licences for that purpose. However, the trade still goes on, as the revenues show. In the ten months to October of last year, almost £2 million worth of trade was registered. If we have a policy and do not want to issue licences, why can we not bring this into law and make it illegal? I do not understand this. There is a policy not to issue licences, yet we do not have anything in law which states that this trade is illegal. That is my biggest problem.
Ms Newsome
For clarification, we have no problem with animals being put down in Irish abattoirs. We would prefer them to go to Irish abattoirs rather than starve in fields and have to be put down there, as we have often found. We have a problem with horses being exported for slaughter and spending their last days in substandard conditions in hot and stuffy trucks without food and water. Our policy states we do not do that to our horses and we have a problem with it.
If the State policy is not upheld, I assume it will stand until it is removed. European legislation which protects animals in transportation is not afforded to horses. As for who is exporting these animals, they are being collected by abattoir owners and shipped by abattoir owners' agents. We are volunteers who have found this out but the Department would have access to the records in port offices and it would be very easy for it to obtain more information. If we had access to that information, we could find out more.
Overproduction of horses was mentioned. We maintain there is total overproduction of horses across the board in Ireland and not just of thoroughbred horses. We are delighted with moves on the thoroughbred side to reduce the number of horses being produced.
There is no point in meeting people who export horses. They are aware that while this is not illegal, it is not allowed. I have seen animal welfare certificates at port of exit stating "riding horses" but such horses have their shoes removed, are in an abattoir owner's truck and have been followed by the RSPCA directly to an abattoir. These people are not going to say they are exporting horses for slaughter.
I know other animals are being exported for slaughter, on which I have a personal view. I do not like to see cattle and other animals exported for slaughter either, but most of those animals are not groomed or handled or used for riding. Trust is not built up with them. Despite their nature, horses learn to trust people, but are being treated appallingly in Ireland. The minimal value in the United Kingdom is effective but while we have a State ban, no controls are in place to back it up. Legislation must be introduced to back up the State policy or nothing will ever change.
Mr. Smith
If one replies to advertisements in the Irish Farmers Journal, saying one wants a horse put down and asks to come along to see it being put down, one is told that cannot be done as the horse is being brought to England. That is an easy test.
I intend to spend some time exploring the different uses of horses such as human therapy. Shetland ponies are trained as guide horses for the blind, doing exactly the same work as guide dogs. In Hollesley Bay Prison in Suffolk, the Suffolk Punch breed of horse has been revived by involving prisoners in horse development and care. There are numerous such examples such as the Barrettstown Gang fund where horses seem to be very productive in therapy with mentally and physically disabled youngsters.
I thank the delegations for their presentations. If they want to contact any of us privately after the meeting, we will try to follow up by getting additional statistics to help this case.
I suggest bringing in the Minister responsible for this area, as well as veterinary and welfare officials from the Department as soon as possible to discuss the information the delegation has given us. Is that agreed? Agreed. We will do so as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Smith
Can we attend that meeting?
The members of the delegation would be more than welcome to come into the visitors Gallery.
Mr. Smith
Thank you.
I will ask the clerk to request a meeting with the Minister and the veterinary and welfare officials of the Department. It should be borne in mind that responsibility for the horseracing industry rests with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. Therefore, we will also send a copy of the delegation's presentation to the Minister for Arts, Sport and Toursim, Deputy O'Donoghue. I thank the delegations and compliment them on their work which is a credit to their volunteers who are in a difficult situation. The committee will do anything it can to further their cause.
We have correspondence from Deputy Ferris asking the committee to invite the ICSA to make a presentation. That concludes our business today. Our next meeting should take place on Wednesday, 18 June. However, due to the unavailability of officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food who will be giving an update on the mid-term review of Agenda 2000 as part of the EU scrutiny process, the meeting has been brought forward to Tuesday, 17 June at 11 a.m. Is that agreed? Agreed.
The joint committee adjourned at 4.55 p.m. until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 17 June 2003.