Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2013
126. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of sport horses here; the controls in place to ensure animal and human health in relation to these horses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6968/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe most recent estimate of the number of Sport Horses in Ireland is provided by a report commissioned by Horse Sport Ireland and conducted by UCD on the Economic contribution of the Sport Horse industry to the Irish economy. The report was published last autumn and estimated the total sport horse population in Ireland at 124,368. Of these, the Breeding sector comprised 73,349, the competition sector 10,354 and the leisure sector 35,882. These figures were compiled using a number of sources, such as Central Statistics Office data, the records of approved horse registration organisations and surveys of a wide range of parties in the industry itself.
With regard to animal health issues, the movement of equidae between Member States of the EU is subject to harmonised rules governing animal health. These rules require all equidae to be accompanied by a passport and a health document stating that the equidae has come from a holding which is not restricted due to notifiable diseases of equidae and are clinically healthy at the time of examination. The rules also provide that the equidae must undergo a veterinary inspection 48 hours prior to movement and their movement must be recorded on the TRACES system.
A Tripartite Agreement (TPA) between the United Kingdom, France and Ireland avails of a derogation provided for in Article 6 of Council Directive 2009/156/EC. This allows Member States to grant one another derogations from requirements for inspection and certification prior to movement and trade between them, provided they are satisfied that the relevant health status between the signatory countries is equivalent. Each country is required to notify the other members of the Tripartite of any confirmed cases of listed diseases that change the equivalence status. The original TPA related exclusively to horses registered in stud books or registered to any international association or organisation which manages horses for competition or racing. However, with the advent of compulsory identification of equidae and the requirement for all equidae to have passports, all equidae with passports (except those destined directly for slaughter) are permitted to move freely within the TPA areas.
With regard to human health, under EU and national regulation, only those horses that have been identified and registered with a passport issuing organisation may be considered for slaughter for human consumption. Horses treated with certain veterinary medicines such as phenylbutazone are permanently excluded from the human food chain in order to protect public health and the passport of the horse in question is endorsed by the prescribing veterinary practitioner to this effect at the time of the prescription being issued or the medicine being administered. An equine for slaughter for human consumption must be accompanied to the slaughterhouse by its passport compliant with current veterinary requirements - this requirement is an essential part of the food-chain information required by food law.
My Department introduced enhanced procedures for the slaughter of horses in abattoirs in October 2011 and communicated these and the checks required both to its staff and the business operators. These procedures provide that an official veterinarian must be present in a meat plant when slaughtering is taking place. All animals are subject to an ante-mortem inspection, which includes an identification check, by an official veterinarian prior to slaughter. Where forged or tampered passports accompanying horses to slaughter are detected, it is Department policy that such animals are destroyed and removed from the food chain.
