The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC), which is representative of various stakeholders in the animal welfare area and has been instrumental in promoting animal welfare in a practical manner, advocates that, in situations where an owner can no longer adequately provide for 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 animal before its welfare is compromised, including consideration of the option of humane disposal where the horse cannot be sold/transferred to another responsible owner. My Department supports this policy because it should help to prevent the emergence of long-term animal welfare problems.
With regard to the funding by my Department of animal welfare organisations under the ex gratia scheme, the terms and conditions of the scheme for 2017 reiterate the FAWAC advice, which was also included in the 2016 scheme. Accordingly, welfare organisations are required to actively seek to find suitable homes for the animals in their care and have in place a policy statement which clearly states the maximum period of time for which they will hold an animal. However, the terms and conditions do not require equines that cannot be re-homed to be euthanised. While animal welfare organisations may hold animals until end of life, they must state the circumstances in which animals are not suitable for re-homing. This is only one of the many conditions of the scheme and organisations which do not comply with this requirement are not automatically disqualified from funding under the scheme. Animal welfare bodies should also be guided by their private veterinary practitioner advice. Information to hand in 2016 suggests that there are excellent re-homing possibilities for equines in a number of European countries.
