CENSUS forms were posted this week to some 29,000 registered equine premises across the country as part of Ireland’s second annual equine census.

Anyone who kept any equines overnight on Wednesday, November 30th is required to submit a completed census return to the Department of Agriculture by Friday, December 16th.

The Minister for Agriculture said: “The census will provide valuable information to the Department particularly in the area of disease prevention but also in addressing public health concerns and in dealing with lost, straying or stolen horses.” He thanked the significant number of keepers who engaged with the 2021 census and encouraged all keepers to engage with the process in 2022.

While paper census returns will be accepted by his Department, the Minister strongly encouraged keepers to submit their 2022 census information online through the dedicated secure Equine Census portal on agfood.ie.

He acknowledged that there were some technical issues with the online portal in 2021 but said: “My Department has taken on board feedback received from keepers and we have worked hard to resolve these issues to ensure that keepers’ experience in 2022 will be much improved.”

He added that, where 2021 data is recorded on his Department’s system, this will be available to keepers to use a base for their 2022 return. The online portal also features a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section and a video has been added to the portal to assist keepers with large numbers of equines in notifying their data.

Keepers will be required to record the total number of equines present on their holding on census night. For those equines that ordinarily reside on the premises, the Unique Equine Life Number (UELN), also known as the passport number, of each equine that has been identified with an identification document will also be required, as will the approximate date on which each animal moved to the premises.

Where equines are present on a temporary basis (e.g. for training/competition/breeding purposes), the individual UELNs will not be required and only the total number of such animals present on the night is required.

The census is required by the EU Animal Health Law, which requires that the Department records the details of the premises where all equines resident in the State are habitually kept. The census is designed to create an initial link between each equine kept in the state on census day and the premises on which it is kept at that time.

A profile of all equines present on a holding on that date will be created on the Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) system, which houses the central equine database. Keepers who do not return a completed census return will not have an equine profile on the Department’s systems and may not be eligible to apply for equine-related schemes that may be introduced by the Department in the future.

For census portal and advice go to agfood.ie.