Passports - I thought they were supposed to be useful!!!!

ginfizz

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Joined
17 August 2004
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www.rossami.co.uk
Ive just been to Derby Horse sales today and am amazed that horses can still be sold with a blank (no owner details) application form - Im sorry but I thought that the law was now that you must have a passport to sell a horse. I'm sure that it did used to be the case at Derby but they have suddenly gone back to selling on just an application form.
Surely this is just dead easy for any stolen horse to be passported there and then and sold on. I always thought that passports were a good idea but now I'm not so sure as they seem so easy to evade. nMy friend bought a youngster through the sale and she had £20 knocked off the sale price to "account for the passport" - she was given a form and told to put her details on the top as the new owner and send it off with £20.
Is this common place at the markets or are Derby a law unto theirselves?
 
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The passport system is a joke.

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Isn't ot just! When Topper was PTS they didn't even want to see his passport!!!!
 
I have never taken Gins passport with me when ive competed and I have never been asked for it. The vet didnt even look at it when she did her vaccinations, she just filled it out.

Its just another way to make people spend money.
 
I was thoroughly annoyed when the vet practise I took Maiden to to have her MRI scan didn't want to see her passport. In fact they didn't want to have anything, literally just took my horse, but that's another story. The amount of drugs and things they had to give her, I'm sure they should have had her passport! It's just ridiculous, it's not working at all and it never will.
 
The passport IS just a joke. It doesn't prove ownership or anything. It only proves that someone has paid for it to be drawn up.
 
It is neccessary if you keep your horse on a farm though.. when they check out the animals that are on the farms such as cows.sheep etc the DEFRA people ask to see th passports of horses kept on the land, a local farmer who breeds sections A's didn't have passports fpr about 15 of his ponies, he got fined
 
Dont get me wrong Im all for passports and think they can and will work especially when NED is available and if/when mandatory microchipping is introduced but this today was a blatant flouting of the legislation - I think its trading standards that deal with the passport stuff so Im going to contact them on Tuesday to see what they have to say about it.
With all the horse theft that goes on it is worrying to think your horse could be stolen, passported and sold on through this market within hours
 
This practice is common at many horse sales/auctions. It doesn't make sense that you can sell a horse without a passport, but you cannot buy one without a Passport. The whole system is crap. It was introduced wrongly and not very well thought out.
 
I know of 2 horses that have been re passported. They both became 4 years younger than peviously! The whole idea is just another stealth tax.
 
My boys were humanely put to sleep (not by the vet so he couldn't ask) and picked up by the slaughter house, they never asked for passports and I still have them, I know I should surrender them but it seems ridiculous that if I don't then no one will ever know.
 
Ive seen a passport issued at Henley sale as well, whats the point of saying you need one to sell a horse when you just fill it in on the day!
Our vets said passports are a pain in the rear and they dont bother filling them in. So why have them?
 
Called Trading Standards on Wednesday (no reply on Tuesday) and guess what - someone will call me back within 2 working days - still waiting. Also heard that Cambridge horse sales let horses go through on blank application forms as well. Seems like the auctioneers just need to keep the dodgy dealers happy !
 
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