Aspects of the owning/keeping and disposal of horses, and how these relate to equine health/welfare in Ireland

BACKGROUND: Ireland has long been renowned as a major centre for the breeding, rearing and keeping of horses. Since 2007, however, there has been increasing concern for horse health and welfare standards, and links between these concerns and the structures, governance and funding of the Irish equine industries have been reported. This paper addresses two central issues: firstly the local governance of, trade in and disposal of unwanted horses; and secondly mechanisms employed to improve standards of care given to horses owned by certain communities. METHOD: Primary information was gathered through visits to horse pounds run by and on behalf of Local Authorities, to social horse projects, to horse dealer yards, ferry ports, horse slaughter plants and knackeries. RESULTS: The approach adopted by members of a given group, e.g. ferry ports, is described and differences are highlighted, for example in how different Local Authorities implement the Control of Horses Act of 1986, and how the choice, for example, of disposal route affects the standard of animal welfare. CONCLUSIONS: There is a pressing need for a more centrally mandated and uniformly applied system of governance to safeguard the health and promote the keeping of horses to a higher welfare standard in Ireland. Fundamental to an understanding of why there is insufficient oversight of the keeping and proper disposal of horses is the lack of a comprehensive, integrated system for the registration, identification and tracing of equidae in Ireland.