Leading voices from across the equine and food sectors are warning that serious regulatory failures in equine identification, traceability and euthanasia process are putting public health at risk, with the very real danger that horses treated with lethal veterinary drugs could enter the human food chain undetected.
Despite the well-documented lessons of the 2013 horsemeat scandal, the UK continues to rely on a dangerously outdated paper-based passport system administered by over 70 third-party organisations – many of which are rendered unable to accurately update ownership, transfer or death records.
“There is absolutely nothing stopping a horse euthanised with barbiturates – rendering its meat a toxic hazard – from being passed off as a clean carcass for human consumption,” said Dr Jason Aldiss, AIMS executive director. “We are sitting on a ticking time bomb.”
The government’s Central Equine Database (CED), which was meant to serve as a reliable national record and by no fault of its own, remains ineffective due to a lack of mandatory, real-time data input by owners. With no centralised enforcement, illegal substitution of horse meat remains a genuine threat, particularly as the red meat market tightens.
Recent footage of seriously compromised live horses being exported via Dover for an unknown fate, has reignited public outrage. The British public do not want horses to end up in the food chain passed off as beef and don’t want horses to suffer long and clandestine journeys in horrific conditions to end their lives in a slaughterhouse.
Veterinary experts, industry bodies, and equine welfare organisations are now calling for:
- Immediate introduction of legislation mandating that horse owners update the CED directly and in real time
- Integration of equines into the UK Livestock Information Service, unlocking access to a tiny share of the £500 million already allocated to digital traceability in the food chain.
“The technology exists. The funding exists. The legislative draft already exists,” added Jason. “What’s missing is the political will. We must act now to prevent another scandal and to uphold consumer trust, animal welfare, and public health.”
