From July 1st next, the ownership details (name, address and contact details) of all newly-registered foals must be recorded by the passport issuing body on their database, and on the Department of Agriculture’s central database.

When any horse is bought or sold, both the seller and the buyer must sign a form, which must be sent to the passport issuing agency within 30 days of the sale and the details of the new owner must be recorded by the passport body on their database and on the central Department of Agriculture database.

The new rules on horse ownership transfers will operate along similar lines to that of the process for the Vehicle Licensing Certificate or the old ‘tax book’ system for cars.

According to the Statutory Instrument, the seller of a horse must give the animal’s passport to the new owner, along with the declaration form. The buyer must also sign the declaration form, giving his/her own contact details, before sending the declaration to the passport issuing body so that the change of ownership can be recorded.

The move is part of Minister Coveney’s drive towards greater traceability in the equine sector and comes ahead of a major animal welfare conference in Dublin Castle next month.

The Department of Agriculture conference will consist of three sessions, the first aimed at general animal welfare issues, the second specifically dealing with equine welfare and the third addressing consumer-focused farm animal welfare issues. The conference will take place on Friday, May 16th.

Among the speakers on the day will be Department officials, Gardai and animal welfare agencies who were involved in several high profile horse seizures in recent months. Large herds of up to 80 horses have been seized in Cork, Wicklow and Westmeath in the past six months.

In all, almost 7,000 horses have been seized in the past 16 months, with the majority of them subsequently put down.

Minister Coveney has adopted a ‘no tolerance’ approach to horse welfare abuses, instructing his officials to pursue offenders through the courts to secure convictions.

Speaking to The Irish Field, the Minister said: “We are intending to prosecute people and make examples of some people, so that they know we are serious about horse welfare.

“The vast majority of people look after all their animals but when people go off side we are going to enforce the law,” he warned.

Meanwhile the reduction in Ireland’s national herd continues, with the latest Department figures showing that 2,055 horses were slaughtered for human consumption between January 1 and March 31st this year.