Farmkey freezemarks

[chestnut cob]

Pony was freezemarked by Farmkey last year and I paid the year's subscription to their registration scheme thingy to help find him if he's get stolen.

Have come to the end of that year now and they've requested payment for another year. Does anyone who has had their horse freezemarked by Farmkey actually pay this yearly subscription? I can't decide whether to do it again this year or not....

Thanks

 

[Louby]

Yes I do, never given it much thought to be honest as to what would happen if I didnt pay it. It just comes out automatically otherwise I'd forget to do it.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Yes, I do.

 

[tikino]

yes i do as what is the point of freeze marking if you are not getting the service that goes with it

 

[Gorgeous George]

yes I pay, after all it is only £12.95 for a whole year, if you don't pay you don't get there backup and help if the worst should happen.

 

[dozzie]

I dont and never have. But when mine were done it was supposedly registration for life. A few years later they changed the goalposts and it annoyed me!

 

[Madasmaz]

I renew mine every 5 years....what price for peace of mind???

 

[BBs]

Yes, I think I paid it for 3 years to start with and now I have an annual payment.
Id keep it up personally.

 

[the watcher]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont and never have. But when mine were done it was supposedly registration for life. A few years later they changed the goalposts and it annoyed me!

[/ QUOTE ]

The goalposts changed some years ago because of the requirements of Data Protection, where anybody who keeps computer records has a duty to ensure that these records are up to date, therefore a renewal period had to be built into the scheme, with an associated cost implication

 

[dozzie]

Fair enough. Mine were done a fair few years ago!

In fact I know mine were done very soon after farmkey was set up. Before everything was computerised. I doubt farmkey would even have a record still. Maybe I should ring them and ask!

I also think in the beginning it was probably more manageable than it is today. Purely due to the number of horses now freezemarked.

 

[ihatework]

I'm interested in this. Are there not a few freeze mark companies around (or is it just farm key?) so if the police found a lost/stolen freezemarked horse would they know to contact farmkey or potentially a number of other companies?
Also isn't one of the main arguments for freezemarking the fact that it is a visible deterrant and that if you needed to reclaim a horse then it is a form of identification? To that end why do you need to pay an annual fee? Surely you should just pay a one off fee and then a small admin charge if you want to change ownership/address details or similar.

Genuine questions as none of mine have freezemarks, although it was something I was vaguely considering. I don't have to pay annual charges for microchips in the small animals so why would freezemarking be any different?

 

[the watcher]

There are 2 national companies, Farmkey and Freezemark. Farmkey usually use a 4 figure mark, and Freezemark usually use a 3 digit mark. Both maintain seperate registers, and there is also the option to record your freezemark details with the other company (for a charge)

Microchips are primarily for identification in the event of veterinary care, loss or straying, export, etc. Freezemarking is a crime prevention exercise as well as an identification method. You don't have to pay the renewal - your identification would still be in place, but if you want support services, ie notification to Police, markets and ports, then you have to keep your registration up to date with renewals.

 

[woolly]

Don't know if this helps but I was trying to trace one of our old mares that was sold in 1998 and she was freezemarked between 2001-2004 by Farmkey (M44) .... When I rang them in 2006 they still had the owners details who had freezemarked her yet the mare had never been re registered. so they must keep the details for a while.

 

[CazD]

I dont pay the registration fee for mine -if you have more than one horse then it starts to get expensive. I paid it in the beginning for several years but I think now with the wide use of the internet you could circulate your horse's details round a wide area fairly quickly - which is all the freezemark companies would do anyway. The mark itself does act as a very visible deterrent to thieves.

 

[chestnut cob]

Thanks all. I've renewed it for another year, after which his loaners will be buying him (so they tell me!) anyway so then it's up to them.