Statement from ECNI
The Equine Council for Northern Ireland has issued the following statement in relation to recent press coverage of the equine sector in Northern Ireland:-
The Equine Council for Northern Ireland (ECNI) presented a set of recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in January on issues surrounding the equine industry in Northern Ireland. These recommendations included a call for a review of the passport and equine identification system which DARD agreed to at the meeting.
ECNI is also concerned by the level of inaccurate information being presented to the public on the equine sector in Northern Ireland. These misleading statistics and information on the industry are continuing to do damage and lead to poor perception of the Northern Ireland equine sector despite the fact that they have been corrected.
It is also vital that Northern Ireland has a fully regulated and approved slaughter facility to ensure that horses do not have to be transported to the Republic of Ireland or to other parts of the UK with potential impacts in terms of equine welfare. The cessation of such a facility will have an impact on equine welfare here and ECNI are continuing to monitor the situation on an on-going basis. In the region of 1,000 horses per annum were legally slaughtered in Northern Ireland but the facility has very recently ceased its equine operation.
ECNI will be meeting with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development early next week to discuss these issues.
