VETERINARY MEDICINES
RESPONSIBILITIES OF HORSE OWNERS/PERSON IN CHARGE OF HORSES
The purpose of this information note is to act as a guidance document in relation to the responsibilities of horse owners and keepers concerning the use of veterinary medicines in horses.
Horses must be properly identified. Under European law a horse is considered to be a food producing animal, and the requirement to be identified by a passport and microchip ensures that horses treated with medicines not authorised for use in food producing species do not end up in the food chain. Offences under the Horse Passport Regulations can attract fines up to €5000.
Since July 2009 all horses must be identified by a passport and microchip prior to December 31st in the year of its birth or within 6 months of its birth, whichever is later. If you delay getting a passport for your horse until after it is 6 months old, the passport issued then will exclude the horse from the food chain. If a passport is lost, all replacement passports will automatically exclude the horse from entering the food chain.
Equines benefit from certain exceptional provisions under EU and national medicines legislation (Directive 2001/82 and SI 786/2007). Since the effectiveness of these arrangements, particularly in terms of public health protection, hinge on the equine
If you bring your horse to a registered veterinary practitioner for treatment, the vet needs to determine the food status of the horse prior to treatment. Therefore the passport should always be available for the vet to inspect. If the horse’s passport is not available, the vet must assume that the horse is intended for human consumption and will therefore endeavour to prescribe medicines that are authorised for use in food producing horses or other food producing animals (i.e. contain substances listed in Table 1 of Regulation EU 37/2010).
In an emergency situation where the health or welfare of the horse or foal is at risk, and there is no suitable alternative permitted for use in ‘food’ horses, your vet may prescribe and treat the horse using the following protocol:
(1) Your vet will discuss the treatment alternatives with you the owner/person in charge of the animal at the time, and explain that treatment with medicines containing certain substances, (those not listed in Table 1 of Regulation EU 37/2010), will require that the horse is permanently excluded from the food chain.
(2) At the time your vet administers the veterinary medicine, he/she takes the animal’s markings and inserts a microchip
(3) The markings, microchip number details, description of horse and details of owner are then sent to the Horse Passport Issuing Organisation (HPIO) on the understanding that passport be issued directly to your vet.
(4) You, the owner, must agree at the time of treatment that the animal will not enter the food chain and agree that the passport will be issued by the HPIO to the veterinary practitioner (written declaration by the owner/keeper).
(5) DUPLICATE OR REPLACEMEORSE AS NOT BEING FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
(A) USE OF MEDICINES
If a horse owner presents his/her horse to a vet for treatment and the horses is not signed out of the food chain then the following options apply:
(i) The vets first choice of medicine must be a veterinary medicine authorised for use in food producing horses with withdrawal period specified in the datasheet
(ii) If there is no suitable medicine available the vet may decide to use a medicine that is authorised for food producing animals, but not for horses and so the vet will determine the withdrawal period and inform you for your records
(iii) If the only alternative is for the horse to be treated with a medicine that makes it unsafe to enter the food chain then Part II of Section IX of the passport must be signed by the vet and you at time of treatment, and this horse may never enter the food chain.
Treatment Options for ‘Food Horses’
¯If Stage 1 is ruled out – next treatment choice is Stage 2 which
comprises 2 options
¯ / / ¯
(B) RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS
Regulation 42(1) of European Communities (Animal Remedies) (No. 2) Regulations are requires that the horse owner or person in charge must keep at their premises a record of all medicines purchased and administered to horses that may enter the food chain. The record keeping requirements refer to records kept in the passport, medicines register and prescriptions.
(i) Passport
The passport is only used to record use of vaccines or medicines defined as Essential Substances and listed in European Council Regulation 122/2013. The details of all vaccines administered to the horse must be recorded in Sections V and VI of the passport by the prescribing vet. If a horse is treated with a veterinary medicine that is listed as an Essential Substance then this also must be recorded in Part III of Section IX by your vet and a six month withdrawal period applies. This means that the horse cannot be slaughtered for human consumption for 6 months after last administration of the particular essential substance.
(ii) Medicines Register
The horse owner or keeper must keep a record of all medicines administered to horses that may enter the food chain.. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that apart from vaccines and essential substances, all other veterinary medicines used to treat a ‘Food Horse’ must be recorded in a medicines register. Currently these records must be kept for five years following treatment, even if the horse has been sold or has died or you no longer have the passport. These records must show details of all medicines purchased and administered. The following details as per Schedule 7 of the European Communities (Animal Remedies) (No. 2) Regulations are required:
1. Purchase records-
(a) Quantity
(b) Name of veterinary medicine
(c) Date of receipt
(d) Name and address of supplier
2. Administration records-
(a) Date of administration
(b) Name of veterinary medicine and quantity administered
(c) Identity of horse treated
(d) Date of expiry of the withdrawal period
(e) Name of person who administered the medicine
(f) Name of prescribing vet if a prescription only medicine
(g) Quantities of unused or expired veterinary medicines which were returned
(ii) Prescriptions
A horse owner or keeper requires a prescription from their vet in order to be supplied with and possess a ‘prescription only’ medicine. This prescription contains the details of treatment for the horse identified on the prescription. The legislation requires that the prescription must be kept as part of your records for five years and be available for inspection at any time.
Records Horse owners/keepers must have for ‘Food Horses’¯
When Part II of Section IX has been completed the horse is no longer considered a ‘Food Horse’ and so the requirements are less onerous for the horse owner or keeper, as there is no possibility of the horse entering the food chain.
(A) USE OF MEDICINES
There is no restriction on the type of medicine that can be used in horses that will not be slaughtered for human consumption as there is no risk to human health via the food chain. Once the vet has checked the status of the horse using the passport he/she may prescribe and administer medicines authorised for both Food and Non Food horses.
(B) RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS
(i) Passport
The details of all vaccines administered must be recorded by your vet in Sections V and VI of the passport. There is no requirement to record any other medicines administered in the passport.
(ii) Medicines Register
There is no requirement to keep a medicines register or any record of any medicines administered.
(iii) Prescriptions
Prescriptions must be issued by your vet when prescribing prescription only medicines. The horse owner or keeper must keep a copy of the prescription until all the medicine has been administered. It is an offence to have a prescription only medicine without having a prescription, and the responsibility lies on the horse owner or keeper to have this copy when there are prescription only medicines on the premises. The medicine prescribed must only be given to the horse identified on the prescription.
Records Horse owners/keepers must have for ‘Non Food Horses’¯
Phenylbutazone is not authorised for use in food producing horses. If ‘bute’ has been administered to a horse it must immediately be signed out of the food chain by completion of Part II Section IX. It is the responsibility of both the prescribing vet and horse owner to ensure that this requirement is met. It is also important to ensure that no other animals that may enter the food chain in the future have access to the phenylbutazone which is being used to treat the horse.
In the event of administration of a commonly prescribed oral sedative paste, containing the essential substance acepromazine, Part III of Section IX of the passport must be completed by the vet at the time of administration and/or prescribing and meat must not enter food chain for a minimum of six months.