‘We need a transitional period to put a plan in place’
THE FREE movement of horses between Ireland, Britain and France is vital to safeguard the future of the sport horse industry which is worth over €700m to the Irish economy and employs over 12,000 people full-time.
“There is a lot of uncertainty and people are cautious due to the fluctuations in sterling, but we need to have a contingency plan in place down the road,” Elaine Hatton, Horse Sport Ireland director of international marketing, told the recent equestrian Brexit event in Portlaoise.
It is estimated that British buyers annually account for some 50pc of purchases of sport horses at public auctions in Ireland, with several thousand more changing hands in private transactions.
One of the key issues raised at the event was the future of the Tripartite Agreement (TPA).
Established in 2014, this allows certain categories of horses, specifically thoroughbreds and sport horses, to be exempted from the requirement for pre-export inspection and official certification, when moving to and from France.
Ms Hatton stressed that this agreement must remain in place, specifically mentioning the cause for concern in relation to horse welfare.
“We cannot have a case where mares being taken across the border are delayed for several hours due to Border controls. This will not only stress the mare, and possibly a foal at foot, but will also disrupt her cycle, resulting in the loss of a covering.”
On the other hand, she said that free movement of horses between the UK and outside the EU could have a catastrophic effect in the control of equine diseases such as African Horse Sickness which, to date, has never been recorded in Ireland.
Minister Creed pointed out that Ireland has one of the highest standards when it comes to animal welfare and it is critical that we maintain this at all cost. “Borders are important, particularly in relation to disease control, but we hope that common sense will prevail and we will not have lines of horseboxes waiting for clearance.
“Unfortunately Brexit is going to be around for a long time to come but we need to make sure we have a transitional period so we can put a plan in place,” he added.
The free movement of people was also discussed and Ms Hatton outlined the importance of maintaining this in order to facilitate non-EU staff within the equine industry.
“The general consensus is that we need to make more noise about how important the equine industry is to rural Ireland. We have some of the best horses and riders in the world,” she added.