HOT BRANDING IN SCOTLAND - ACTION NEEDED!

The cat is out of the bag pictures speak a thousand words see the video of Hot Branding on Face Book under Stop Hot Branding of of Exmoor Ponies and other Equines in Scotland.

Even in the USA they have stopped Hot Branding their Wild Horses. Check this out see the STOP Hot Branding Exmoor Ponies and other Horses in England and Wales Campaign. The support from the USA is huge.

Yes, Freeze branding should be done under anaesthetic. Hot Branding is done without any aneasthetic whatsoever by untrained lay people. Micro chipping is done by vets who can monitor reaction.

Farmers do not Hot Brand cattle or sheep so why do it to our beautiful native ponies and other horses? Are ponies and horses a lesser animal than cattle or sheep.

The BEVA the British Equine Veterinary Association have said Hot Branding is a cruel and unnecessary practice. Vets are supporting the ending of Hot Branding. Time for Hot Branding to go.
 
I would like to reply to Miriam G’s post clarifying some of the points that she has made and ask some questions about the accuracy of her posts, #27 & #28.

1. “ the law change” The law in Scotland has not changed. There is a proposed amendment to the legislation, the consultation period for which recently ended. It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the amendment to ban hot branding will be passed.

2. “there are no large semi-feral herds co-grazing in Scotland” There is a free living semi-feral herd of Exmoor ponies running on several thousand acres of moor land in Scotland and the ponies in this herd are not all owned by one person. I don’t think that you are aware of how this herd is managed.

3. “After only 3 years of managing a herd I can accurately identify each individual in a group of 60+ ponies” What herd of over 60 ponies do you manage and say can identify individually? I know of no such herd running that many Exmoor ponies together in a group in Scotland.

4. I am an Exmoor Pony Society Inspector and would like to correct your inaccuracies about the process of branding an Exmoor pony. The brands applied to an Exmoor, unlike freeze branding, are not applied singly. The herd number, which can be 3digits long, is applied as whole number to the shoulder below the Exmoor Pony Society star brand. The individual number is not as you said applied to the flank but to the rump of the pony and is also applied as a whole number (up to 3 digits long, usually only 1 or 2). There are only three brands; not seven as you stated; applied to the pony each for approximately 3 seconds.

5. “hot brands can easily be tampered with unlike microchips” There has not been a case of an Exmoor pony’s brands being tampered with to my knowledge and it would be extremely difficult to do. However, I believe that microchips can be tampered with and definitely can be lost.

Hot branding of horses is an extremely emotive issue but does offer a distance readable method of identifying individuals for life. It also, like freeze branding, acts as a deterrent to thieves.
 
Hear hear Glenalbyn!

A burn is a burn regardless of whether or not it is hot or cold. Visible ID/deterrants are a must and I am certain that there are more chronic equine problems than branding.
 
I had a telephone call from some lady from an organisation called something like Compassion in World Farming asking me about hot branding. I asked her if hot or cold branding was most painful and she said she did not know. I said I would get one buttock done with cold and one with hot and she could let me know which is most painful, she did not ring again. The EU permits branding as a derogation from chipping and it is a shame DEFRA did not spend more time on this subject. As many people have said the brand number is in the passport and anyone can check quickly if they have the right horse and the two digits are part of its UELN with a chip you have to have an expensive reader to read the chip.
 
sywell said:
I had a telephone call from some lady from an organisation called something like Compassion in World Farming asking me about hot branding. I asked her if hot or cold branding was most painful and she said she did not know. I said I would get one buttock done with cold and one with hot and she could let me know which is most painful, she did not ring again. .
Click to expand...

LOL.....classic!!
 
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