Horse Passports
by John Parker, President of the BDS

Confused and worried about Horse Passports ? Join the club !

Conflicting advice about Horse Passports has been pouring out of every equestrian oracle for months, leaving the average owner totally bewildered. Some advise waiting until your horse needs veterinary treatment or is dying before you sign the section on whether he is available for human consumption. Some suggest you don’t bother to get a passport at all !

As President of the British Driving Society, which is one of the largest independent, non-commercial equestrian organisation in Britain, I have been working with MAFF/DEFRA for years to get user friendly schemes, reasonably-priced passports and, most important of all, something which will ultimately benefit the ordinary owner and his horse. So what are the facts ?

Firstly, whatever you may read elsewhere, I can categorically assure you that horse passports are NOT an option. You must apply for a passport for every horse, pony, donkey or mule you own. Failure to do so is against the law. It’s as simple as that.

Secondly, horse passports have nothing to do with taking your horse abroad. They are what you and I would call a "horse identification document". There is a one-off payment to be made per passport, which is valid for the whole of the animal’s life. It works a bit like a car log book; you identify the animal, record pertinent information during his lifetime, change of ownership details, etc, and return the passport to the issuing organisation when he dies.

Thirdly, the purpose of the legislation is to prevent veterinary medication, such as painkillers, sedatives, wormers, etc, entering the human food chain via the consumption of horse meat.

Fourthly, you have the option to either permanently exclude your horse from slaughter for human consumption, or ‘opt in’ to your horse being slaughtered for horse meat. All you have to do is sign the appropriate section on the horse passport. If you acquire a horse whose passport declares him intended for human consumption, you may have this changed to ‘ not available for human consumption’, however, once a horse has been excluded from the human food chain, this is irreversible.

Ok, those are the basic facts, but I know you are still wondering where this leaves you in terms of buying your passport, shopping around for the best price, and whether to exclude your horse from slaughter for human consumption or not. Again, there has been a great deal of conflicting advice, so let me try to cut through some of the confusion for you.

There has been a recent spate of articles persuading you that unless you sign the section permitting your horse to be slaughtered for human consumption, it will cost hundreds of pounds to dispose of your horse after death.

What is not being made clear is that it is only horses which are delivered alive to the abattoir, and free of most commonly-used veterinary medications for a period of six months prior to slaughter which can enter the human food chain. Horses which die or are put down at home are classed as fallen stock, and you will have to pay to dispose of them after death, as most people have always done, no matter what you have written on their passport.

Furthermore, horses which are excluded from human consumption are allowed to continue to receive all veterinary medications throughout their lives without the need for the vet to record the treatment on their passport, whereas horses which are eligible for human consumption must have every medication, wormer, etc, permanently recorded.

What we should all be supporting is a national Government-subsidised collection scheme for carcasses of animals which die or are put down at home, which would be the most satisfactory solution to an inevitable problem.

So far as where to get your passport and how much it will cost, this depends very much on what sort of horse you have and how you shop around. Only a tiny handful of Passport Issuing Organisations are able to issue passports to animals which are not of a recognised breed, or which are not eligible for entry in a stud book. This leaves owners of part-breds, cross-breds and goodness-knows-what-breds out in the cold.

The BDS’s view is that our duty is to represent the best interests of the private horse owner, rather than the interests of the commercial Horse Industry. Since horse passports are a legal requirement, we are determined to keep the costs as low as possible.

Fortunately, the BDS is able to issue Passports to every horse, pony, donkey and mule, no matter what it’s breed, type, colour or size and no matter whether it drives or not.

If you are a BDS Member, the cost is £18 per animal for life – less than the cost of a single horse shoe ! Non-BDS Members pay £28 per animal, although it is probably worth considering joining the BDS to get the Member’s rate if you have several horses. Riding schools and large equestrian establishments can get a discount on bulk orders, or the owner can join the BDS and pay the £18 Members rate on each animal. We also have a special rate for veterinary practices buying in bulk. Change of ownership £12

Most important of all, we are offering all equine charities, welfare organisations, horse and donkey rescue homes and sanctuaries the chance to buy BDS horse passports at a discounted rate, because the BDS feels very strongly that such organisations need our support.

Full details of the BDS Horse Passports and application forms can be obtained from from this website of from the BDS office. Please contact Tess Styles, 83 New Road, Helmingham, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 6EA.  Tel: 01473 892001, fax: 01473 892005.