Equine passports and exports

Equine passports

Since 2005, owners have not been able to sell, buy, export, slaughter for human consumption, compete with or breed with any horse without a valid passport.   

This was set out in the Horse Passports (England) Regulations 2004, making it compulsory for an owner to have a passport for any horse they own, including ponies and donkeys.  

A list of passport issuing authorities can be found on the government’s website.

If your horse does not have a passport, you should apply for one now so as to comply with the law. 

Equine passports

All horses and ponies born now must have a passport, either by the time they are six months of age or before the 31st December of the year in which they were born (whichever comes later).   

This law has brought England in line with the rest of the EU and has been put in place to prevent horses which have been treated with veterinary medicines, not authorised for food-producing animals, from being slaughtered for human consumption.   

When a vet treats your animal, they must satisfy themselves that the animal in front of them corresponds to the one in the passport and will then check the declaration at Section IX of the passport, regarding whether the horse is for human consumption.   

If the passport has not been signed in section IX or the horse is intended for human consumption, certain drugs will have to be recorded by the vet. 

If the passport is unavailable, the drugs administered should be put in writing elsewhere.   

If the declaration has been signed stating that the horse is not intended for human consumption, no drugs have to be recorded in the passport. 

Vaccinations will be recorded in the usual way.

Passport management and owner responsibilities

You can appreciate that it is far easier for all concerned if your horse is considered not intended for human consumption.   

When a horse is sold, the owner must transfer the passport over. 

The new owner then has 30 days to fill in the change of ownership details and inform the passport issuing authority. 

After a horse has died, the passport must be returned to the passport issuing authority within 30 days. 

Similarly, an owner has 30 days to apply for a replacement for any lost or damaged passport.

Equine exporting and export certificates

When horses or ponies are exported to foreign countries, they will usually require a vet’s inspection within 48 hours of leaving.   

An Export Health Certificate will have to be completed by the vet. 

Some countries will require blood tests, swabs or quarantine. This will be stipulated by the importing country and will be detailed in the Export Health Certificate. 

The Export Health Certificate needs to accompany the horse on its journey.

Useful information

If quarantine, blood tests and/or swabs are needed, it is important to find this out from DEFRA as soon as possible after you have made the decision to export the horse. 

These tests will have to be done in advance of the export, and if quarantine is required, this will have to be set up.   

The horse owner or transporter should contact DEFRA to apply for an Export Health Certificate, and DEFRA will forward it to us. 

When it arrives, the receptionist will allocate a vet to carry out the inspection and complete the certificate.   

The following vets in our team are certified to carry out this inspection: Kyle Black, Lucile Creis, John Dickerson, Jonathan Garratt, Tom Leaman and Simon Turner.