Pleasure Horse Society - Passport Complications Re: Slaughter

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In The Real World

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Good Evening All

Ok not a nice subject - but one I feel that should be shared.

My friend whos recently had to make a very difficult decision to have her two elderly mares destroyed asked me if I would transport her girls to the Abbatoir when the time came? I offered my support without a 2nd thought as she is really struggling and recently found out she isnt going to get any better and is unable to work due to a terminal illness which is also causing financial problems to :(

Its all very sad - but she has tried for a while to find suitable homes only to be inumdated with unscrupulous types wanting to make a few quid.

I made the dreaded call to the Horse Disposal Slaughter House explaining I wanted to stay with the horses whilst they where humanely destroyed and they kindly went through the whole process explaining to me I would be allocated a booking time and that I could stay (within a distance due to Health & Safety etc).

I was then asked to give the Horses Passport details etc and this is when the problem occured! Apparently as my friends horses are passported with the Pleasure Horse Society (and they have seized trading and now been taken over by the Horse Passport Agnecy) these horses can NEVER be allowed to enter the food chain! Although there paperwork and passport is all correct and the Section IX has never been signed by a vet! This decision has been made and without any consideration to horse welfare and that sometimes people cannot afford the alternative - like my friend. I am completely disgusted :confused:

How can DEFRA and Trading Standards allow this? I recently went onto the Pleasure Horse Society website to see they had issued 41'000 passports in there time of trading........apparently these passports aren't worth the paper they are written on :mad:

I also contacted Andrew Davis of the Horse Passport Agency whos reply was a little more dressed up - but yes no matter what it says or dosent say on the Section IX NO horses passported with the Pleasure Horse Society can ever enter the food chain.
 
Oh what a shame. Sounds like your friend has given this a lot of thought and chosen this as the best outcome for her horses in this situation.
 
She has given this alot of thought - and although its a horrible thought, she is trying to be responsibe and do the write thing. The alternative is for them to be put down at home at a high cost and this is money she dosent have. :(


I believe this decision by DEFRA and the Horse Passport Agency is going to cause welfare cases in the long run, alot of people have this type of passport for horse and ponys which have no official stud book etc.
 
Would it be possible for them to go to a hunt? The actual PTS (shoot) process is similar but arguably less distressing environment for the horses and probably not as expensive as a vet.

Terribly sad situation.

Actually, on that note... given the situation, and assuming there is nothing majorly wrong with the animals you might find someone decent on here to take them on for free. Worth asking given the alternative I'd say.
 
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I have recommended she contacts Trading Standards (thank you the lady who has PM me)

Why should her two passports along with the other 41'000 The Pleasure Horse Society have issued have this facility retracted - Just because they have seized trading? I realise this subject is taboo subject and nobody wants to ever think of having to send there horse to slaughter but with the current climate its very real and happening every week!
 
Hello Tickles

Yes I have tried the Hunt but they no longer take carcases due to hefty disposal fees of the bits the hounds cannot eat - they have now turned to dry food :(

To be honest she has tried to find homes for both the girls but they must stay together as they have never been apart and get distressed when separated. So far the kind of people who have been in touch via the website she advertised on have been really dodgy and refuse to allow us to vet there yard. If we are brutally honest nowbody really wants to take on two elderly broodmares who cant be ridden:(
 
Are there any other hunts in your area you could transport the mares to, that do take horses?

As in my experience they don't ask to see the Passports at all and the cost isn't prohibitive.

A very very sad situation :(
 
What a situation! I would say try other hunts, even if they don't feed to the hounds they often have a shoot and remove service for a lot less than vets. I doubt a charity would take the horses but if she could prove to them there is no money perhaps she could ask for help towards the cost of destruction?
 
The horse trust has a welfare hotline that helps people with the pts process, they might have some ideas?
 
Oops sorry to keep adding, just wanted to say that I would also examine the possibility of re-pasporting with a differet society. Would the slaughterhouse slaughter them and dispose, I think our local one offers that for non-food chain animals.
 
Where abouts are you based?

I know that this doesn't sound very nice but there is a chap local to us that will come to your yard & PTS (shoot) horses, i think that he supply's a Safari Park but at least horses would go at home, which is much less stressful for them.
 
HazyXmas said:
Where abouts are you based?

I know that this doesn't sound very nice but there is a chap local to us that will come to your yard & PTS (shoot) horses, i think that he supply's a Safari Park but at least horses would go at home, which is much less stressful for them.
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Ditto this, if you are near a zoo/safari park with larger animals, they might be grateful for the donation ...
 
Email this problem to Donna Yates of the Horse Passport Team at DEFRA as this has never been discussed with the Industry Representatives at meetings with DEFRA.
 
Am I wrong in thinking there have been several passport agencies that have had their licences removed to produce passports, does this rule apply to those as well. ? As long as the back as not been signed and the horses have not been given certain drugs, I really do not see the problem. :confused:
 
Is it possible/cheaper to repassport the horses with a different agency and then take them? Weren't those organisations who were no longer permitted to issue passports 'taken over' by other PIOs who then had responsibility for the passports already issued?
 
ester said:
Is it possible/cheaper to repassport the horses with a different agency and then take them? Weren't those organisations who were no longer permitted to issue passports 'taken over' by other PIOs who then had responsibility for the passports already issued?
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This is what I always believed too, I have used pleasure horse for passports in the past. Its like one of the spotty societies and the gypsy cob one that both lost the right to issue passports. Do these rules apply to them as well, if so there will be a huge ammount of horses and ponies trapped in this silly rule.
 
There should be a local "knackerman" in your area who will come out and put the horses down efficiently and compassionately, for a much cheaper fee than the vet.

Much less distressing for the horses than being transported to an abattoir. If the friend can't afford it, could her friends/family have a whip round to get the money together? It would probably be nicer and less distressing for your friend as well as for the horses.
 
Thank you for all your contructive & helpful comments:)

I have spoken with my father whos a farmer and he has been in touch with his local knacker man and we have negotiated a low price given the terrible situation etc. Such a sad situation I feel we have been let down by the system.

I still feel that this passport situation is completely wrong though:mad: How can some desk jockey make a sudden change to the regulations without making a proper formal announcment? Its totally wrong the system is a joke, a PIO goes out of business and so your passport is legal and correct for somethings, but not others? I am going to write to DEFRA as I would like them to make people aware, its only fair!

In answer to the re passporting the mares question, I spoke again to the Abattoir this morning and apparently any horse issued a passport after 1st July 2009 can only enter the food chain IF the DOB and the date of issue on the passport is no greater then 6months, this is regardless of what the Section IX says! Some PIO will automatically sign the horse out of the food chain if these dates are greater then 6months - others dont! So again this is no good as Muffin is 20yrs old and Ruby is 26yrs.
 
Thankyou, intherealworld, for this thread.
I have a horse with the PHS and I had no idea about this. Horse was signed out of the food chain in Section IX by a previous owner, so that choice was already removed for her but Im sure a lot of people have been/will be caught out by this development.
 
Im not sure about the Gypsy Cob & Spotted Horse PIO - I didnt realise there where others who had gone out of business to be honest?

The worrying thing is like u say there could be alot of horses & ponys trapped in the ridiculous rule (A rule which hasnt been made known by the Authoritys!!)

When you look at the recent news about the volume of horses & ponys been dumped, I have to ask myself has there final option also been taken away by this ruling? Are they passported with a PIO who's no longer in business?

Makes me wonder???:rolleyes:
 
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