§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many horses and ponies have been exported from Northern Ireland in each of the last five years to(a) Great Britain and (b) other European destinations. [141614]
§ Mr. PearsonStatistics on the export of horses and ponies to Great Britain are not collected as these animals move freely without any form of certification being required. The European Commission contracts a private company, Eurokom, to collect information on movements of live animals between Member States. They have supplied the following figures for the export of horses from Northern Ireland to European countries other than France and the Republic of Ireland.
Year Number 1998 4 1999 13 2000 5 2001 112 2002 14 2003 44 Under a tripartite agreement between the UK, Ireland and France no health certification is normally required for movements of horses between these three countries and hence these figures do not include animals which were destined for Ireland and France.
§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to implement new EU rules on animal transport; and if he will make a statement on the protection of the welfare of horses, ponies and other animals during transportation and related operations from Northern Ireland to(a) Great Britain and (b) other European destinations. [141615]
§ Mr. PearsonThe Government welcome the publication of the Commission's proposals for new rules on the welfare of animals during transport, but would stress that these proposals are still at the negotiating stage. Whatever rules are adopted will be implemented in Northern Ireland in parallel with implementation in GB.
265WFor journeys of less than 50 Kilometres within Northern Ireland no certification is necessary. For a journey over 50 Kilometres but under eight hours duration (whether or not involving export from Northern Ireland), horses, ponies and other animals must have a self-certified Animal Transport Certificate, which is issued by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development under the Welfare of Animals Transport Order. No advance notification of such journeys is required. However, the haulier must be in a position to produce the required documentation on demand.
For journeys over eight hours, transporters must submit a Route Plan in advance of any journey, setting out details of the proposed journey, rest periods etc. Officials check that the haulier is authorised, that the proposed journey times are within the maximum allowable for the species and that all necessary breaks for rest, watering and feeding are included. If assembly centres or staging points are included in the planned journey, staff check that these are EU approved premises. The use of staging points also requires the haulier to provide a statement to the effect that the necessary health requirements will be met there and that the animals are booked into the premises on the dates specified on the Route Plan.
DARD veterinary staff at the ports and airports inspect the animals to ensure that they are fit for their intended journey, that they meet the health requirements of transit and destination countries and that their means of transport and stocking density are compatible with domestic animal welfare legislation and EU requirements.
It is only when DARD is satisfied that all these checks have been satisfactorily completed that the animals would be allowed to start their journey.