Equine Passports
The horse passport regulations came into force in June 2004.
By now every equine i.e. horse, pony or donkey should have a passport.
Events of 2013 show how important these measures are!
Since 2005, all equines in the UK are required by law to have a passport which identifies the animal, states whether or not it is intended for human consumption and shows the current owner.
All passports issued since 1st Jult 2009 also require that the animal is microchipped and the microchip number is recorded in the passport. This is a simple procedure if your horse or pony does not already have a microchip, and is also the best way of being reunited if your animal is lost or stolen.
Due to recent changes in the law, all equine passports issued after 1st January 2016 must also contain markings/silhouette completed by a Veterinary Surgeon.
The passport should be with the animal at all times, even when travelling, and should especially be available to the vet when administering vaccinations or medicines. Passports enable us to continue using certain drugs, such as Phenylbutazone (Bute) which would otherwise be banned from being used on horses, as they are considered to be food producing animals in the rest of Europe. The passport MUST be signed by the owner indicating that the animal is NOT intended for human consumption before we can administer certain drugs at all. If the passport is signed such that the animal IS intended for human consumption then every medication administered must be recorded in the medicines section of the passport, and our treatment options become more limited. PLEASE sign your animals out of the human food chain, and have your passports available at all times!