Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a centralised and digitalised ID and traceability system across the UK to prevent the illegal movement of horses and other equine species.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability. We have no current plans to implement mandatory digital identification, but we remain in close touch with the industry to look at potential improvements.

Defra also regularly engages with officials in the devolved governments to discuss matters of equine identification and traceability.  Officials also share data on equines located in the UK with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and with the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the Republic of Ireland.  The majority of equine movements into and out of GB take place between the island of Ireland and GB.