"Not for human consumption"

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Welly

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The following is a quote from the article in H&H about the new rules on passports. "If a vet is treating a horse without a passport, they must treat it as if it was going for human consumption, unless they know the horse and is aware its status is "not for human consumption". I read this to mean if my horse needs emergency treatment and I can not be contacted the vet would not be able to give life saving medicines as he has to assume that the horse will be for human consumption. Does this leave our horses and ponies at risk of being put down?
 
I have never been asked by a vet if the horse will be for human consumption, although one has asked to see her passport to confirm that it was already marked to show that she'd been treated with certain drugs and couldn't enter the food chain (it had).

I think vets will assume that leisure horses are not intended to enter the food chain and will give the drugs accordingly.
 
My horses say on their passport "suitable for human consumption" but i have never taken this to mean that they will be refused life saving medicine due to the chemicals not being allowed to get in the foodchain...it's just a clause that is there on the passport that means nothing to me. Now i'm wondering if i need to ask my vet about this as i'm slightly worried..
 
I would have the vet pump them full of stuff so that some barbaric foreingner carn't eat them....
grin.gif
 
Our vets check them once, then have it on thier computer records, which be accessed at any time. so drugs do not have to be recorded or restricted.
 
Its nice to see that you all have your own vets informed but, what happens if a vet from another practice attends? The point is why should the burden of proof be on us. The law should change and those that want our horses for meat will have to keep them for the time (28 days I think) drug free, this might make it to expensive for the trade.
 
Vets are notoriously lax on this. Except in an emergency, they should not provide antibiotics for a horse without seeing the passport, but few do. This makes a mockery of the whole question of whether or not a horse can enter the human foodchain.

In Scotland the Dept of Rural Affairs are working with the vets bodies to make sure they understand their responsibilities. The microchip legislation next year requires more of the vets, and if the vets don't do as required the legislation is rendered toothless.
 
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