Debate contribution: Equine Registration and Horse Passports
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 7 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Equine Registration and Horse Passports
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5669995
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The current legislation requires all equines under a person’s responsibility to be correctly identified, which includes holding a single lifetime identification document or, as it is commonly known, an equine passport. For equines born on or after 1 July 2009, that includes being microchipped. Owners and operators must ensure that all information in the passport is accurate and kept up to date, including ownership details. Since 1 February 2026, it has been compulsory to register establishments where equines are kept. It is now also a requirement to provide an equine establishment number when applying for or amending an equine passport. That was an essential first step towards introducing a robust equine traceability system in Northern Ireland. The Member may be aware of the context around that. While further work remains, those coordinated efforts are laying the foundation for a more robust, transparent, and compliant equine traceability system that will be in line with animal health law requirements. However, that will take several years to operationalise and deliver.
167 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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