merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, has reiterated his call to persons in charge of premises (including lands) on which horses are normally resident or where horses are gathered for events, such as race meeting/shows/studs, to register the location of these premises with the Department.

The Minister explained that registration of premises is an important and legal requirement enabling the Department to identify the location of such premises so that they can be mapped on the Animal Health Computer System in common with those other holdings already mapped (cattle/sheep/pigs and poultry). This information will enable the Department to alert owners in the event of a contagious disease outbreak to quickly implement disease control measures and give them advice on appropriate precautionary, containment and control measures.

The Minister said that some 6000 premises had become registered since this new requirement came into force in May last. He went on to say "While the response to date is welcome, there is some room for improvement and recent events in Europe reinforces the need for the Department to have a full picture of horse premises locations so that action can be taken quickly for the benefit of this valuable industry".

Registration may be made through the Department’s Regional Office serving the area in which the premises are located. Application forms on which to register are available from any of the Department’s regional offices (Cavan/Cork/Clonakilty/Raphoe/Galway/Tralee/ Naas/Drumshambo/Raheen/Navan/Tullamore/Roscommon/Tipperary/Waterford/Enniscorthy, from the Department’s Animal Health Division, tel. 01 6072466 or from the Department's website:

www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/registrationofpremisesanimals/registrationofhorsepremises/