Horse Week: Horse Sport Ireland issues statement on Professor Wall Report

The trust placed in the sector, and social licence to operate, is built not only on regulatory compliance, but also on the fundamental principle of putting the horse first in every decision that is made, a spokesperson for HSI said.

“The abuses and fraudulent practices exposed by last year’s RTÉ Investigates documentary are a stark reminder of the consequences when systems fail and when individuals disregard this duty of care,” the spokesperson continued.

“They are also a challenge to all stakeholders to reaffirm welfare, integrity, and accountability as non-negotiable cornerstones of our industry.

“HSI welcomes the publication of Professor Patrick Wall’s report and supports its recommendations aimed at strengthening equine traceability, transparency, and welfare protections across Ireland and beyond.

“Horse Sport Ireland wishes to again acknowledge the reporting work undertaken by Conor Ryan and RTÉ Investigates, which brought these issues to light.

“What was made clear in the documentary was that horses were tampered with for financial gain, and in order to insert them into food chain.

“The core issues regarding passports and documentation that were highlighted in the programme related to the identity of horses being falsified, which is a crime. It appeared that in some cases, documentation was issued in Northern Ireland, France, and the Netherlands which did not reflect the horse’s true identity.

“There was no evidence that documents issued by Passport Issuing Organisations (PIOs) approved by the Department of Agriculture Food, and the Marine (DAFM) were tampered with in any way. Such documents now have significant security features.

“Instead, the programme showed that in some cases, the information supplied to PIOs was fraudulent. Horses had multiple chips inserted, and false markings drawn up and submitted by sellers/vets to PIOs, where the new chip was not registered with any PIO. Individuals were shown to have been engaged in criminal and fraudulent activity that went unchecked owing to a lack of legislative enforcement.”

HSI has said it hopes that the outcomes of any criminal investigation into these matters are aligned to the severity of the abuse and reputational damage to the equine sector and Ireland’s food industry.

The spokesperson continued: “As identified in the report, there remains a significant gap in traceability and reporting of equines to the UK Central database. HSI looks forward to the implementation of a system between DAFM, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEARA) in Northern Ireland, and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to mitigate these risks.

“Horse Sport Ireland publicly advocated for the introduction of genotyping for all equines registered on Breeding and Production Documents.

“HSI Ireland initiated the genotyping of horses in 2022, and this has been the status quo in equine passporting for several PIOs in Ireland ever since. This is essential in ensuring equine traceability.

“Horse Sport Ireland has also employed a cloud-based genotyping software system to ensure that these DNA records can be interrogated for traceability purposes. These activities were funded by DAFM under the National Breeding Services scheme.”

Last year, Horse Sport Ireland, under the Brexit Adjustment Fund provided by DAFM, initiated the building of a new e-passport system akin to what is in operation by the Weatherbys studbook. This new system offers improved access to animal records and compliance with EU equine habituation legislation.

The spokesperson stated: “This significant IT project required the transfer of over half a million equine records and all associated personal data - breeder, keeper, owner records etc.

“HSI continues to develop the system to add additional services for breeders, including the public-facing database for Horse Source, formerly IHR online.

“Horse Sport Ireland has already initiated discussion with the new National Veterinary Prescribing System (NVPS) to facilitate two-way communication between HSI’s Horse Source system and NVPS platforms to enable live updates to animal food chain status. We look forward to continued developments in this area.

“HSI remains committed to playing a leading role in strengthening traceability, supporting breeders, and working closely with DAFM and all other stakeholders to uphold Ireland’s reputation as a world leader in equine welfare and integrity.”

HSI has issued 5,530 passports, while a further 97 are being quality checked. About 530 DNA samples are currently with the lab for testing, while about 10% of DNA kits have yet to be returned by breeders.

“There were delays in issuing passports as HSI moved to the new online system, and HSI has previously acknowledged this and apologised to breeders,” they continued.

“The waiting times that were experienced for passports had no relevance whatsoever in terms of the fraudulent activity regarding equine identities that were highlighted by the RTÉ programme.”