Jasmine

Irish Horse Overpopulation Meeting

Jasmine writes " Mr Walsh went on to say "There is no doubt but that we have too many horses in the country and as we head into the winter we want to ensure that we have plans in place to deal with any welfare problems that may arise," Walsh said. The Minister reported that the meeting was very constructive and that they would set up another involving the relevant agencies to put the correct protocols in place. Joe Walsh said that while the horse welfare does great work caring for and re-homing horses there was a limit to how much they could do. "These organisations are stretched and we need to be sure that everybody in the sector plays their part to ensure that all horses are well looked after," he said. "Everybody who is involved in the sector should be conscious of the problem and not be afraid to offer assistance and advice to neighbours if they are experiencing difficulties. No-one wants to see horses suffering and we all have to play our part," he said. "One other issue which we stressed at the meeting was the need for a proper traceability system for horses.”We have excellent traceability systems in place for cattle and sheep but there is no such system for horses. "For example, people are not obliged to register a change in the ownership of a horse and this means that it can be difficult to hold people to account for the condition of their horses when they are abandoned.”This needs to be looked at urgently, as it would also have major implications if there was a disease outbreak," he said. In the long term, Walsh said that the country needed to improve its breeding industry to ensure that more valuable horses were bred. "It will always be the case that quality horses will be valuable and that poor stock will be hard to sell or to find an effective use for. "This situation is always exacerbated in the economic downturn," he said. Walsh said that, unfortunately, part of the solution was having more horse slaughtering facilities in the country. Several have recently re-opened and other horse abattoirs have applications pending. "

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