# DEFRA - Horse Owners Survey on Passports



## PeterNatt (24 March 2013)

Agencies surveyed over passport system
Owners, vets, passport issuing offices, auctioneers, dealers and enforcement agencies are all to be surveyed about the current passporting system.
Roly Owers of World Horse Welfare, a member of the Industry Group the Equine Welfare Sector Council, told H & H the group has compiled a list of questions, some generic, others tailored to specific groups, to go out later this week.
"We are not asking for recommendations for changes, but we want to asses the understanding of passport regulations as a whole and how well people think they work".  he said.  "Most think the system is in dissaray, so with this we will have hard evidence for Defra."
He added that he'd be pushing to make some changes within a few months.
"We will work together to introduce new quality standards for passports making them more difficult to tamper with,"he confirmed.
Owners can complete the survey at http://www.horsesurvey.co.uk/owners
Other groups will be contacted directlt
From Horse and Hound 21 March 2013 Page 8 - News in Brief


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## POLLDARK (24 March 2013)

Done. I hope that something is done to tighten up the enforcement & checking of microchips too


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## LittleBlackMule (24 March 2013)

I've completed the survey, but I found several of the questions did not have enough options, and I also think they would learn a whole lot more if they asked whether anyone had bought horses without passports altogether.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (24 March 2013)

LittleBlackMule said:



			I also think they would learn a whole lot more if they asked whether anyone had bought horses without passports altogether.
		
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Done, and agree with the above.

Have had 2 horses in the past 6 months who had no passports, one of those whose chip did not match the passport that followed...... allegedly chipped 2 weeks before he arrived & details in the passport, no chip found by using 4 readers....


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## Queenbee (24 March 2013)

Have filled out, put on my website and facebook group and shared on other fb groups


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## Queenbee (24 March 2013)

Just wanted to add, I too agree the questions were a bit limited.  I would have liked to see some questions about how people want to be able to use the passports.  For example it asked what in your opinion is it for (one option was ownership proof)  but, it would be nice to have had the option to be able to say: this is what we would like it to be used for!


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## Sussexbythesea (24 March 2013)

Whose survey is it? Is it WHW?


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## Sussexbythesea (24 March 2013)

Sorry accidently posted before saying thanks!


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## Skippys Mum (24 March 2013)

done


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## Mellis (25 March 2013)

Have completed but there are certainly gaps in the questionaire.


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## attheponies (25 March 2013)

Done - at least some interest is being shown in the horse passport system at long last! When the idea was first mooted I felt it was purely yet another money making scheme from the government that would not be enforced and serve no useful purpose. My views have actually changed in that I feel it could be useful if the system were to be properly run.


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## Pearlsasinger (25 March 2013)

Mellis said:



			Have completed but there are certainly gaps in the questionaire.
		
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Done and agree with this.
I can't understand why  it doesn't ask if a previous owner had signed to remove the horse from the food chain.


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## martlin (26 March 2013)

Done, although I found it difficult to give accurate answers - not enough options.


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## ILuvCowparsely (26 March 2013)

done, though as others say not enough choices or anywhere you can add, like have you  sent back  passport of PTS horse  I said no and no where to say why.  If they stamped deceased on it and would return I would send it it otherwise no way.


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## Dolcé (26 March 2013)

Done, and I agree there are not enough options on some questions! It would have been good if, as owners, we were asked what we wanted the passport system to do for us, as well as for the requirements of DEFRA.  I suspect that again we will have to pay for the changes they make but those who do not comply will pay nothing and it will still end up as a white elephant!  The system has so many possibilities but they are just wasted because of lack of consultation with users of the system.


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## Merrymoles (26 March 2013)

Done and agree with all who say questions/answer options too limited. No, I didn't inform the PIA when I had my last horse put down - because he didn't have a passport.

Now owning horse with passport, it's all still a bit of a worry to me. I think my horse is 11, his passport states that he is 11, but it was only issued two years ago so who knows whether he has been re-passported, never had a passport until the age of nine, was on bute for the first nine years of his life etc? Plus, because he's on an Irish passport, how will things improve even if the Government/Defra tighten up the rules and the monitoring of them unless every other country does too?


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## Luci07 (31 March 2013)

Personally I would like to see passport act as a legal document of ownership. This is something that people so often think is the case and is not. In the case of the loan, the passport could simply be stamped as such so the horse could not be sold on, until the named owner on the passport has signed the declaration or the loaner gets a subsection to show vaccinations identity which can then be inserted into the original passport when the horse is returned.  I seem to be paying for something to prevent my horse entering the food chain ..and we all know that's not working!


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## micki (1 April 2013)

Done it. As others have said not enough options to give correct answers. I would liked an option to have my say about what passports should do, after all it is us that are paying for them.


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