Following on Secretary of State Owen Paterson’s commitment to review the horse passport system in the wake of the horse meat incident earlier this year, in March the Equine Sector Council for Health and Welfare conducted surveys amongst all those involved with the passport system, asking five core questions across all surveys and additional detailed questions tailored for each group.
The survey results demonstrated a catalogue of misunderstanding, patchy compliance, lack of enforcement and a struggling system without controls or consequences. A staggering 80+% said they did not believe the system fulfilled its purposes.
