In the wake of the horse meat scandal, plans to tackle the issue of horse passport fraud are under way. The European Commission wants member states to make a national database mandatory. Further A single passport issuing organization may be in the pipeline. This means that only one authority in each country will be able to spred the new passports.
“We agree there should be a centralised passport issuing office,” a Defra spokesman told. “This is something we explored in 2010, but were restricted by EU legislation.” Last year vets and welfare organisations were “concerned” when the National Equine Database (NED) folded (news, 24 August 2012) just four years after it was launched, due to lack of government funding.
Jeannette Allen, leader of the sector council, said it supports the new EU proposal.
“It’s an excellent step, but if new regulations are to be written in such a short time, we need to ensure they are as tight as they can be,” she said. She added that passports will only need to include regulatory information — microchip numbers, silhouttes and owner details.
© Horse and Hound
In the wake of the horse meat scandal, plans to tackle the issue of horse passport fraud are under way. The European Commission wants member states to make a national database mandatory. Further A single passport issuing organization may be in the pipeline. This means that only one authority in each country will be able to spred the new passports.
“We agree there should be a centralised passport issuing office,” a Defra spokesman told. “This is something we explored in 2010, but were restricted by EU legislation.” Last year vets and welfare organisations were “concerned” when the National Equine Database (NED) folded (news, 24 August 2012) just four years after it was launched, due to lack of government funding.
Jeannette Allen, leader of the sector council, said it supports the new EU proposal.
“It’s an excellent step, but if new regulations are to be written in such a short time, we need to ensure they are as tight as they can be,” she said. She added that passports will only need to include regulatory information — microchip numbers, silhouttes and owner details.
© Horse and Hound