Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 February 2014
523. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which animal welfare regulations continue to apply to non-thoroughbred sporting and non-sporting horses; the extent to which owner identification registration is currently managed or can be better managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6858/14]
View answerMy Department currently has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals only i.e. animals normally bred or kept for the production of food or for use in or for the purpose of farming. The relevant legislation in this area is the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes Act, 1984 and the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations 2010, S.I. 311 of 2010. Veterinary inspectors of my Department enforce this legislation on farms.
The main statutes governing cruelty to all animals, including non-thoroughbred sporting and non-sporting horses, are the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act, 1965. Responsibility for enforcing this legislation rests with An Garda Síochána. However, the new Animal Health and Welfare Act consolidates a range of existing legislation in the area of animal welfare. Section 11 of the Act imposes a duty of care on persons in relation to all animals including horses. A person who has a horse(s) in his or her possession or under his or her control must take all necessary steps to ensure the animal is kept and treated in a manner that safeguards its health and welfare and a person who fails to comply with these provisions commits an offence.
With regard to horse welfare, it is important to note the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) which recommends that, in situations where an owner can no longer adequately provide for an animal or where the equine can no longer fulfil the purpose for which it was bred, owners should be proactive in seeking to dispose of the animals before their welfare is compromised. Such action will help prevent the emergence of long-term and severe animal welfare problems.
The identification and registration of equidae is governed by EU Council Directives 90/426/EEC and 90/427/EEC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008, which have been transposed into national legislation via S.I. No. 357 of 2011 - European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (as amended). The EU regulation does not provide for the notification of change of ownership. However, my Department is currently in the process of drafting legislation to provide for the compulsory notification of change of ownership under the Animal Health and Welfare Bill. I expect that this legislation will be published shortly.
Proposals to amend Regulation 504/2008 are currently under examination in Brussels. When adopted, the new regulation will significantly strengthen the existing provisions relating to the identification of horses, in particular, by the introduction of an equivocal link between the passport and the horse and notification of change of ownership where this is required by the national of the Member State. It will also give greater powers to the competent authorities in Member States to ensure the effective implementation of these provisions, including through the introduction of minimum criteria which must be met by bodies which issue passports for horses for production and breeding. The expected date of implementation of the new regulation is 1 January 2015.
