THE Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is inviting public consultation on equine traceability via a new online survey.

Improving traceability has been a priority for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) over the last number of years and incremental improvements have been made, including the introduction of an equine census and online microchip checker.

Following the broadcast of the RTE Investigates documentary, Horses: Making a killing, in June 2024 highlighting issues with equine traceability, the Department asked Professor Patrick Wall to undertake a root and branch review of the whole traceability system.

Professor Wall’s report was published in March, along with an action plan, both of which can be viewed at www.equineid.ie.

The purpose of the public consultation is to gather ideas on how best to deliver the recommendations of Professor Wall’s report. Any interested individuals, groups or organisations can share their views on equine traceability in Ireland by completing the online survey available at the QR code above.

Anyone who prefers to can email their views to HorseID@agriculture.gov.ie. The Closing Date for the survey is September 8th, 2025 at 5pm.