Irish investigation reveals problems with horse traceability

An investigation in Ireland has brought the importance of horse welfare and the way in which their meat can enter the food chain into the spotlight.

A programme on Irish broadcaster RTÉ addressed issues such as traceability, microchip misuse and fake passports, and also featured covert recording and analysis of microchip records.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) responded by saying that the welfare of horses is protected by law and that responsibility lies with the owners and those who keep the animals in their possession or under their control.

“My department has already launched an investigation into the supply of horses for slaughter in recent weeks. Some aspects of the ongoing investigation relate to some of the sending activities,” said Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

DAFM has the licence of Shannonside Foods, Ireland’s only horse abattoir, while investigations are ongoing. The site was featured on the RTÉ programme.

The Irish Parliament also debated the issue and allegations were made that microchips were being implanted into horses to create false identities.

“We have strong laws in this country on animal welfare and animal traceability. My department is already working with the Gardaí (Irish police) to investigate these specific cases and the full force of the law is being applied. It will also be important to work together across Europe to ensure that the Europe-wide system is robust,” McConalogue said.

Strong reaction
Horse Sport Ireland stated that the organisation “condemns” the practices relating to the treatment and slaughter of horses described in the programme.

“There is no place in society for the mistreatment of horses or other animals, nor is there room for the use of animals for criminal purposes. Horse Sport Ireland welcomes a full investigation into the deeply troubling issues highlighted by the programme and will offer its full cooperation to any such investigation.”

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) said it was “appalled” by the incidents and hoped that action would be taken to ensure that such behaviour does not go undetected again.

World Horse Welfare said the revelations about the horse passport fraud were no surprise and reflected long-standing warnings to authorities. The organisation added that the systemic failures highlighted meant that horses that had been phased out of the food chain could be re-identified and sent to European slaughterhouses.

“What we saw (on the programme) was outrageous and proof that even after over a decade the horsemeat scandal was never really over. These horses have been let down in every way imaginable by a fundamentally flawed system and we hope that the disgust generated by the programme, as well as the concerns about food safety, will translate into practical action by EU and UK authorities. There is no excuse for allowing this fraudulent trade to continue and we hope that the authorities finally recognise the damage it is causing and take the right measures to stop it,” said Roly Owers, CEO of the group.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) stated that, given the potential impact on the traceability of animals entering the food chain and to ensure the effectiveness of official controls on such operations, it is working with the DAFM to investigate and take action to address any issues identified regarding the safety and integrity of the supply chain.

Broader EU question
A European Commission report on potential fraud and violations in April included two entries detailing illegal slaughter and deficiencies in the traceability of horses from Ireland, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

“Across Europe, control authorities are understaffed and food fraud is not high on the political agenda. Criminals do not hesitate to exploit the weaknesses of the system: few controls, national databases that do not necessarily communicate with each other, and a lack of transparency that protects them,” says Ingrid Kragl of Foodwatch.

According to House of Animals, Dutch traders are crucial to the horse meat network.

The animal welfare organization stated that horses previously used in racing should not enter the human food chain due to the possible use of drugs to treat injuries.

Investigations have revealed that horses from Ireland and the UK are being sent to the Netherlands and Belgium, where they are given a new chip and a false passport, before being taken to slaughterhouses across Europe, including in Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.

In early 2023, 15 people from France, Belgium and the Netherlands were convicted in a Marseille court for their involvement in a horse meat trade. In 2022, Europol and Spanish authorities uncovered a network selling potentially unsafe horse meat in Spain, Belgium, Germany and Italy. In 2020 and 2021, several EU countries attempted to combat the illegal introduction of horses into the food chain.

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