Defra to close NED website end of Sept 2012

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cally6008

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www.tracingequines.co.uk
I don't know if you are aware yet but DEFRA have given notice that they are not awarding a new contract for a central equine database and that their contract with the National Equine Database Ltd (NED) will terminate at the end of September 2012.

Therefore, this NED website cannot continue to operate beyond the end of September and all NED Services including horse search, lost and stolen register, horse associations, pedigree, progeny and performance reports, passport check, NEDLinks and equine reminders will no longer be available

Nick, CEO of NED says
In practical terms probably the best thing you can do right now is write to Defra expressing your view. The Ministers responsible are Jim Paice and Caroline Spelman. The Horse passport team is on horse.passports@DEFRA.GSI.GOV.UK.

In the meantime we and the British Equestrian Federation are trying to find ways of persuading Defra to change their mind or to find ways to fund NED from within the Industry. Unfortunately, because Defra delayed making their decision from May until the end of July (in the middle of the Olympics!), we have only a couple of weeks to find a solution.
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Suggested wording of email to send to horse.passports@DEFRA.GSI.GOV.UK in response to Defra's decision to close the National Equine Database website

Dear Jim Paice and Caroline Spelman,

I am deeply concerned regarding DEFRA’s decision to cease funding the National Equine Database. What measures does DEFRA have to uphold the law on equine passports, if there is no central database?

The decision to cease funding this scheme, while hundreds of equine’s in this country are at their most vulnerable time in decades, will only increase cases of abandonment and neglect.

The horse passport was introduced by the UK government and should therefore by administered by it or by an accredited organisation.

As a concerned citizen of this country, a horse and animal lover, I demand that DEFRA continue funding the National Equine Database.

(Add a story about how you have used NED? )

Yours faithfully
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Sign the online petition here - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-ned-open/
 
Tell all your friends to sign on line petition. I thought it was vital to have a central database primarily so that drugs did not go into the human food chain and of course disease surveillance. What happens now - unless DEFRA have something else planned to cost us horse owners money. Horses have to be passported even though they may not go anywhere and now they have to be microchipped. Why? What next?
 
Since the first horse passport order in 1997 DEFRA has continued to make a mess of this Paul Newman of DEFRA when asked at a Horse & Pony Breeds Committee meeting when he was making a presentation on behalf of DEFRA The legislation says when you sell a horse you must give the passport to the new owner and further on it says the vendor is responsible to send the passport to the issuing authority to change the owner ship , he just stood there and was unable to make a comment. When DEFRA started to give anyone the right to issue passports the whole thing got out of hand until Alun Michaels stepped in and stopped it. The performance by DEFRA in the last year has been amazing and the Horse Passport Team have clearly done their best but have been overridden by an SRO above them. The whole waste of public money to go out to tender was objected to by the Steering Group of the PIOs who suggested revamping NED with more active participation by the PIOs not people who have no understanding of passport administration.
 
If it does close, are the going to reimburse people for the money they have on the site? I have purchased points still on there and when I bought them there was no warning notice that they would be closing shortly.
 
HBM1 said:
If it does close, are the going to reimburse people for the money they have on the site? I have purchased points still on there and when I bought them there was no warning notice that they would be closing shortly.
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Since NED Points are required for a number of the services on the website they will remain available for purchase as long as the website is available. However, we have introduced a new single point option for users who do not wish to purchase more than they can foresee using before the end of September 2012.

If you do have NED points linked to your account, please be aware that once the NED service stops, you will no longer be able to use the points you have bought so should consider how you use them up between now and the end of September 2012.

773 signatures now
 
While I agree with needing a database that is easily checked by owners/breeders/buyers themselves, sadly NED has never been up to that job at all with many horses totally missing from the files. Let's hope that whatever comes in its place it is a lot better this time.
 
NED can only work with what information the PIO send to them

If information is missing, it is up to you, the PIO and NED to get talking to each other in order to correct the information
 
cally6008 said:
NED can only work with what information the PIO send to them

If information is missing, it is up to you, the PIO and NED to get talking to each other in order to correct the information
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That makes me laugh. Do you have any idea how many people have done just that and have not even had any responses from NED at all or their PIO has told them NED does already have the correct information? The whole sorry mess that is NED has been appalling for many people right from the start and they won't miss its demise, sorry.
 
Does everyone know that there are 2 separate parts to NED. One is the mandatory data sent up by the Passport Organisations which goes to DEFRA - and the other is the pedigree/performance data supplied voluntarily by the Passport Organisations and Stud Books for which people have to pay and which has turned out to be non viable commercially. I think some Stud Books knew this would never work as people either buy a stud book or get the info they require on line these days.

What we need to save is the mandatory data part of the NED which is the basis for a central equine database supposedly required for disease surveillance and for control of drugs into the human food chain. Surely then all the industry, inc welfare, would be happy.
However we must also realise that already there is another tack being discussed by the 'industry' as per H & H today p. 8. that is now looking at listing the location of horses rather than just the owners. I think I am getting old and cynical not to foresee a licence to keep a horse at a property coming in.
Why reinvent the wheel just keep the mandatory database and let all the Breed Societies etc. continue to do what they do now??
 
The petition signatures has reached over 1,000 now :)

I do happen to think that whatever "new" system comes in to force by the "industry" will involve more cost to the owners than the current system.

Also, listing a horse's location (depending on how it is done) could pave the way for more thefts and ownership disputes .....

It could possibly make my "job" easier but I much prefer the current way of letting people contact the PIO and let them forward letters on, unless the current (or previous) owners come forward and identify themselves via facebook or the website

(if that makes sense)
 
Completely agree with maesfen. NED was an excellent idea but in reality is completely useless. The information is often inaccurate, which is worse than no information at all as it's very misleading. It will be no loss at all in my opinion.
 
ribbons said:
Completely agree with maesfen. NED was an excellent idea but in reality is completely useless. The information is often inaccurate, which is worse than no information at all as it's very misleading. It will be no loss at all in my opinion.
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Agree. Can't see the point of it, and, having to purchase 'points' to make any changes to incorrect records is daylight robbery.

Having paid an extortionate £50 to get my Shetland gelding a passport through the Shetland Pony Stud Book, he has never figured on the NED even though I've contacted both them and SPSB. I gave up, especially when there was talk of charging owners a licence fee per horse, I thought, OK, as far as DEFRA is concerned, the pony doesn't exist, so let's keep it that way!!
 
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