The Department of Agriculture has confirmed it is currently examining a number of suggestions relating to a disposal scheme for unwanted horses.
The move comes as animal welfare charities warn of a looming crisis this autumn and winter that they say would see thousands of horses die slow and painful deaths through neglect.
Some 6,445 horses and ponies were slaughtered for human consumption in the first half of this year, putting the country on track to slaughter around 12,000 for the full year. However, this is just half the 24,411 horses that were slaughtered in 2012.
Strict regulations on the passports of horses for slaughter means thousands of horses are excluded from factory disposal, leaving many with no viable outlet for animals.
Barbara Bent of the ISPCA said she could clearly see the need for a horse disposal scheme to prevent unnecessary suffering but added that it was essential the existing horse identification rules were implemented.
(Source – Irish Independent – Caitriona Murphy – 27/08/2013)
Funding For Humane Horse Slaughter Likely
Funding for humane slaughter or appropriate treatment of unwanted horses is expected in next week’s budget.
“If people have horses that they cannot feed and they have no market for those horses and there is likely to be a welfare problem as a result, we must and will act on that, and we are willing to allocate funding to ensure it is done in the most appropriate way,” said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.
Tighter rules since the horsemeat scandal have reduced the number of factories slaughtering horses, leaving the Department of Agricultuer to ensure there is no welfare issue for horses that have no market value.
“We are trying to assess the extent of the problem and there is a potential cost implication next year from that,” said Mr Coveney.
“We will not have an amnesty to allow people to slaughter horses inappropriately. We have considered approaching this problem purely from the point of view of horse welfare. I will not reward anyone financially for having a large number of horses that are not microchipped.”
“Whether the animals have to be slaughtered humanely or given appropriate treatment, it will be done.”
Horse welfare considerations arise because the number slaughtered in Irish factories fell from 24,000 last year to about 6,000 to date this year.
“An important factor is that many of the facilities that slaughter cattle no longer want anything to do with slaughtering horses because of the reputational issues that have arisen.”
During his pre-budget briefing to the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, said Mr Coveney, “I wish to nail a few matters in respect of which people appear to have totally unrealistic expectations. One of these is the idea that we could simply roll over REPS next year, that this would be okay and that we would still be able to save the same amount of money. The latter is simply a non-starter.”
(Source – Irish Examiner – Stephen Cadogan – Thursday, October 10, 2013)
Could some unwanted horses be produced and marketed as riding cobs?