A MYRIAD of scenarios was raised by horseowners faced with increased paperwork and logistical nightmares amid deep concerns over the future welfare of horses in-transit.

Monday’s seminar was attended by a good cross-section of sport horse owners and breeders as well as thoroughbred breeders and racing yards personnel.

One racing enthusiast asked what were the steps involved in getting racehorses from Ireland to a racecourse in the UK and home again.

The answer was to go to the UK website where you can get a link to the approved Official UK Government Veterinary Surgeons who can issue the necessary certificate. You then have to notify the Department in the UK of who the nominated Official UK Government veterinary person is and he/she will issue the cert on the day you are due to travel.

If you are going to a sporting event with registered horses (racing or sport horses) and coming back home in 30 days or less, you will be able to come back on a certificate and are not required to do blood testing.

Meanwhile it emerged that horses going to the sales in the UK and if they are returning to Ireland, will have to get the cert (mentioned above) and also blood testing done.

“The rules are not dictated by us. The UK will be a third country (under a ‘No Deal’ Brexit). It is very difficult for us - our hands are tied. Horses for sale is excluded in the streamline of Racing/Competition/Cultural events,” said Catherine Lawler, Superintending Veterinary Inspector with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Show jumping tours

Concern was raised about Irish show jumping horses, travelling to Europe via the UK landbridge, away for around three months at a time on the popular Sunshine Tours. It emerged that there is no customs approved facility for horses in the UK. So if you unload horses there, you are heading into certification requirements. People also raised the fact that drivers on a tachograph have to stop for 12 hours and asked what tariffs would apply to unload in the UK for rest periods for horses and drivers.

“Because of these sort of issues, you would be looking at the re-entry certificate to move into the EU. I cannot speak for the BIP, you’ll need an InterHealth Trade Certificate. We are still in negotiations over the landbridge at European level. As it stands you don’t need blood tests to move a horse to Belgium or France. But if you unload in the UK, you would be facing into blood tests. None of us can tell you the logistics at departure and entry points. Our priority is to ensure live animals have minimal delays. But when you describe the movement of horses to the EU via the landbridge, the logistics and the infrastructure in Dover remain to be seen at any given day or time,” said Lawler. “The welfare of animals in the UK is out of our control. They said they have not currently got a customs approved facility. This affects us, this affects France. The Rosslare route is not viable for all.”

TRACES

To obtain a CVED (Common Veterinary Entry Document), you must register on TRACES (Trade Control and Expert Systems), a movement monitoring system throughout Europe. It notifies the movements of horses in the EU.

When you arrive at Dublin Port for example with horses from a third country (eg the UK in a ‘No Deal’ Brexit situation), the veterinary surgeons on duty will inspect the animals on board and if they are happy, they will sign off on the CVED which allows onward movement to take place.

“As it stands we are preparing for a ‘no deal’ worst case scenario, there is a transition period until the end of next year and hopefully, all my sleepless nights will come to nothing and [there] will be a lot of room for negotiation and that will be for another day. Our priority is that live animals will not be delayed at the ports and minimal checks done but we are curtailed by the EU and these checks have to be done.

“Register for TRACES, it is essential, you will not be able to come back into Ireland. Check out the gov.uk website, it’s critical and check out the Department of Agriculture website (www.agriculture.gov.ie) for updates we will be issuing very shortly,” said Lawler.