Maurice Quinlivan
Question:160. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of prosecutions since January 2013 with regard to the failure of owners to chip their horses. [39162/18]
View answerThursday, 27 September 2018
Questions (160)
Written answers
The current rules in relation to the identification of equines came into effect on 1st January 2016 and are governed by Commission Implementing Regulation 262/2015, as transposed into national legislation via S.I 62 of 2016 (as amended). This legislation provides that all equines must be identified with a passport no later than 12 months from the date of birth of the animal. Each equine must be implanted with a microchip by a veterinary practitioner, the number of which must be recorded on the corresponding passport, on the database of the issuing Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) and on the central equine database maintained by my Department. This establishes the link between the animal and its passport document.
The implantation of a microchip in an equine by a veterinary practitioner became a requirement under the provisions of Commissions Regulation (EU) 504/2008, which came into effect on 1st July 2009 in respect of all equines identified with a passport from that date.
Equines identified with a passport prior to 1st July 2009 are deemed to be properly identified even though they have not been implanted with a microchip.
Proper identification of an equine cannot be established visually. The physical identification document issued in respect of an equine records the required identification details of the animal, and it is from that data that the requirement for a microchip is determined.
Enforcement of equine identification legislation is largely undertaken by authorised officers across the regional offices my Department who liaise with authorised officers in the Local Authorities and other organisations as required.
While S.I. 62 of 2016 (as amended) provides for the prosecution of keepers who have unidentified equines in their care, it also provides for the issuing of compliance notices. My Department's policy is to adopt a fair and proportional approach in dealing with breaches of equine identification legislation. In this regard, authorised officers engage with keepers to ensure that they understand their responsibilities and where breaches of the legislation are identified, they generally provide an opportunity for non-compliant keepers to rectify the position within a specified timeframe. This approach is considered to be effective.
There have been no prosecutions since January 2013 with regard to the failure of owners to chip their horses.