Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2018
459. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts and work being undertaken to ensure all horses are microchipped and allocated passports; and if the use of scanners being available to An Garda Síochána to assist it in ensuring the law is being complied with in respect of this issue will be considered. [46643/18]
View answerThe rules governing the identification of equines are determined at EU level. Commission Implementing Regulation 262/2015 (CR 262/2015), which came into effect on 1 January 2016, lays down the current rules in this regard. This legislation was transposed into national legislation in Ireland via the European Union (Identification of Equidae) Regulations (S.I. 62 of 2016)(as amended).
CR 262/2015 revoked and replaced Commission Regulation 504/2008, which came into effect on 1st July 2009 and which introduced the requirement for equines to be implanted with a microchip by a veterinary practitioner at the time of initial identification.
Article 12(1) of CR 262/2015 provides that all equine animals must be identified with a passport no later than 12 months from the date of birth of the animal, and in any event, before moving permanently from the holding of origin. The passport must generally accompany the equine on movement.
Under EU rules, equines for which passports were issued with effect from 1st July 2009 must be implanted with a microchip by a veterinary practitioner and the number of that microchip must be recorded in the passport of the animal, thereby establishing a link between the animal and its identification document. This information must also be recorded on the database of the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) that issued the equine identification document, in conjunction with the Unique Equine Identification Number (UELN) allocated to that equine for its lifetime. All relevant PIO registration data are also recorded my Department's central equine database.
Equines identified with a passport prior to 1st July 2009 are not required by EU law to be implanted with a microchip. Accordingly, the absence of a microchip in an equine does not necessarily mean that the animal is not identified properly.
Equine passports are issued by Passport Issuing Organisations (PIOs) approved by my Department. Information available from these organisations suggest that high rates of compliance with the identification rules are being achieved.
Enforcement of equine identification legislation is primarily undertaken by authorised officers in my Department who liaise with authorised officers in the Local Authorities and other organisations including members of An Garda Síochána and officers of the Revenue Commissioners, as required. Authorised officers from my Department engage in checks at sales venues including marts and fairs, as well as at horse slaughter plants and at export points including ports and airports. These compliance checks are on-going and will continue to be undertaken.
The presence of a microchip in an equine cannot be established visually. When checking for the presence of a microchip in an equine, it is necessary to physically handle and scan the animal. From a health and safety perspective, this action should only be undertaken by personnel who are competent in the handling of equines. In that regard, where a member of An Garda Síochána requires an equine to be scanned, s/he should liaise with veterinary staff in the relevant Regional Veterinary Offices (RVO) of my Department who will assist in the scanning of the equine. All of the RVOs have sufficient supplies of scanners.
