Report of Meeting of Equine Liaison Group held in Backweston on 11 January 2016

Attendance: Dept: Martin Blake CVO; Michael Sheahan SSVI, Sally Gaynor SSVI; Hazel Sheridan SSVI, Eoin RyanSRO, June Fanning SVI, Norma Behan, andB. Walsh.

Sinead Thompson DARDNI; A. Corbally, T. Connors HSI; DonCollins, Vety. Ireland; A. Munnelly BBA; J.O Connor ITBA; D. Leadon.

Apologies:N. Hannon, Irish Harness Racing Club.

Mr. Blake opened the meeting by welcoming all in attendance.

1. Minutes of meeting of 22 June 2015

Minutes of meeting of 22 June 2015 were agreed.

2. Update on Review of TPA Meeting held in France

Dr. Fanning updated the group on the on the outcome of the Tripartite Agreement (TPA)review meeting which took place in France, during October 2015. The TPA is reviewed by the 3 Member States every six months. The TPA ‘designated approved bodies’ from the 3 Member States are invited to participate to give an update on how their systems are operating. One Irish approved TPA body attended (ITBA).

The main focus of the meeting in October was the audit systems in place by the TPA bodies.

Arising from discussions at the meeting, each of the CompetentAuthorities (CA) agreed to:-

  • present each of their TPA bodies with a data dump of the DOCOMs created on TRACEs on a monthly basis, in order to facilitate necessary audits;
  • request TPA bodies to supply supporting documentation to back-up audits carried out;it is anticipated that two DOCOMs per month will be checked to begin with, the objective is to have audits performed in near to ‘real time’;
  • begin spot checks at ports,
  • carry out annual systems audits of TPA approved bodies.

It was also agreed that a formal agreement setting out obligations of TPA bodies e.g. audit responsibilities, report requirements, disease surveillance, information/notifications etc. would be developed, and outline sanctions for non-compliances will be drawn up. All TPA bodies will have an opportunity to comment before agreement is finalised.

The next TPAreview meeting is due to take place in the UK in March 2016 and will focus on the auditsystems. Accordingly the Irish TPA bodies must complete their auditsand identify issues to be discussed in advance of the March meeting. In this connection, the Department aims to schedule separate meetings with each of the TPA bodiesand a further meeting with the group.

In the discussion following the presentation, in response to a question from the chair, HSI indicated that the system is now working better. As regards error rates, DAFM said that fewer errors were being observed, that the Turf Club had particularly good controls in place and the level of data entry errors was very low with racehorses. ITBA also had a low level of data entry errors.

Ms Munnelly stated that the (French) TPA bodies charge shippers for their time and resources for creating DOCOMs; ideally it would be better if Irish shippers could create the DOCOM for the horses travelling from France to Ireland. Dr.Fanning acknowledgedthat this is an issue which was being looked into. While it is technically possible for Irish bloodstock agents to be approved by France Galop, the process is not very clear; currently there is only one UK shipper approved to create DOCOMS by France.

The Chair strongly encouraged the TPA bodies to attend and participate in thesereview meetings.

3. Veterinary medicines – effective communication of trainer/owner/keeper responsibilities

Dr. Sheridantook the opportunity to address the group on theuse of veterinarymedicines in the horse industry, pointing out that the rules which are fundamental to animal health and welfare for horses are also fundamental to the food industry and Irelands ability to trade on the global food market.There is a danger that people do not necessary think of horses as food animals and that any such frame of mindincreases the risk of the inappropriate use or the use of unauthorised medicines – with potential risk to the food chain.

Dr. Sheridan spoke about:-

-The use and dangers associated with unauthorised medicines. She stressed that these medicines could contain other unlisted ingredients/live diseases which may introduce new diseases into Ireland.

-The impact of the use of unauthorised medicines on the food industry as a whole.

-Use of exceptional medicines - usually only via cascade rules and prescribed byPrivate Veterinary Practitioner.

-The licensing system for the use of imported veterinary medicine from abroad if required.

Purpose of the presentation was to identify opportunitiesthe industry could take to reinforce a key message to owners/trainers/keepers of equidae – ‘to ensure that theyonly use authorised medicines and that they keep full records’.

Mr. Blake emphasised the need for particular attention in the following areas:-

(i) Record keeping/Recording of medicines administered in the passport and the non- availability of passports when animals are being treated - there is a danger thatwhere it is required to endorse the passport following use of certain medicines, if the passport is not stamped at the time the medication is administered, there is a concern that theendorsement will not be donesubsequently.

(ii) Accurate administration of medicines, particularly relating to the use of medicines (such as phenylbutazone)which can be mixed in with feed. There is a danger that some of the treatment may accidently transfer to other horses for which it was not intended, through sharing of buckets, etc.

(iii) Storage of medicines on holdings. All medicines should be stored under lock and key and correctly labelled. This is important to ensure the right animal is administered the correct medicine.

The Group drew attention to scarcity of approved medicines for horses, as recently experienced in respect of herpesvaccine.

Mr Blake acknowledged that the industry may experience occasional issues regarding short supply of authorised medicines. He explained that DAFM had a process by which it could, where authorised medicines were not available, facilitate the import under licence of product authorised elsewhere in Europe, or if necessary other parts of the world. However before the Department makes a decision on the issuing of an import licence, it hasto identify and evaluate the relevant risks, taking into account the production system approval in the source country, experience in use of the product, etc. A significant effort must be invested in thisevaluation process - it’s not just a matter of taking first immediate expert suggestion. If a shortage is foreseen, the industry should notify theDepartmentas the earliest possible opportunity, asthe evaluation process takes time to complete.

Mr. Blake commented that the use of only appropriately authorised or licensed medicines is a key issue. This applies in the equine sector as much as it does in the broader food production sectors. DAFM had a mechanism to address the lack of availability of medicines.

Mr. Leadonsuggested that the Department could utilise the Industry’s’ Drugs Enforcement Task Force,to facilitate a two way flow to disseminate information and collect data. Currently owners must sign a declaration that there was no use of unauthorised medicines. He also suggested that a separate identification system for non-food use horses might also go some way to resolving any issues.

Mr. Sheahan advised that there was new technology out now in the form of a new type microchip. This new microchip would allow the recording of additional information such as ‘not for food’ on the microchip. This is a very exciting development in technology and one which could, if adopted generally, be good for the industry in the longer term.

All participants said they would gladly circulate to their members/constituent groups any material that the Department wished to have disseminated. Mr. Blake welcomed thissuggestion and another - that industry could insist on certain elements – such as medicines storage and record keeping -be part of their terms and conditions of membership or licensing.Dr. Sheridan will liaise with the industry regarding circulation of key educational material.

4. Information on new legislation – equine ID; Notification of disease (including approach to Piroplasmosis)

Equine ID

Ms. Behan gave details on the new legalisation. This development has fallen out of recent food scandals, the aim is to tighten up on security procedures, There is now a mandatory requirement on the Keeper of a horse to update PIO of (all) changes in passports. The long term aim of the Commission is to have a standardised passport used across all Member States.

The legislation also lists the minimum information which should be contained on databases, and increased the time allocated for issuing passports from with 6 months of date of birth to within 12 months of date of birth.

Ms. Corbally stated that the dateswere causing a little confusion;in addition to this the space provided for in the marking description was an issue for their users. They have provided a template for users to input the data and their system automatically inserts it into the space provided. Another issue they experience is where change of ownership occurs in the UK, the Irish PIO has no idea of change and/or death.

Previously both seller and buyer had to sign the form which ultimately was a better system for them. Ms. Corbally acknowledged that the Departments’ change of policy to require only the purchaser to sign the form was on foot of representations by PIO’s.

Notification of Disease

Consultation process executed and concluded on 18 December 2015 and a Statutory Instrument isdrafted.

Previously every notifiable disease was treated the same i.e. there was a 7 day standstill period upon notification. Under the new SI this will change. Diseases are listed in three parts under the new Schedule - Part A, Part B and Part C.

Under the new SI disease listed in:-

  • Part A will continue to be subject to the 7 day stand-still period
  • Part B may be subject to restriction notice and
  • Part C will not be subject to stand-still or automatic restriction notices.

Equine Piroplasmosis will continue to be notifiable under Irish law and is also notifiable to the OIE, however it is now listed in Part C of the schedule i.e. The disease is notifiable but the stand-still restriction will not apply.

Mr. Leadon welcomed this approach to Piro.stating that heretofore horse owners were reluctant to test for the disease due to the sanctions, this new approach will alleviate concerns equine owners may have.

5. Disease Update

Ms. Gaynor advised the group that there was very little to report. Summarising the situation in the EU in 2015 as follows:-

  • EIA: there were 370 cases reported 341 in Romania, 0 in Ireland.
  • EVA: no outbreaks were reported. Ireland investigated a small number of positive cases (8) – mainly in pre-breeding stallions and donkeysscreened prior to entry to the donkey sanctuary.
  • Glanders: Last outbreak was confined to Germany. Ireland had a pre-export CFT sero-positive result in September 2015. The re-test a month later returned a negative result on CFT.
  • Piroplasmois: Ireland has occasional sero-positives to follow up. Usually in pre-export tests or donkeys screened prior to entry to the donkey sanctuary. There were no clinical cases reported. The most recent case was in a foal which tested positive on a pre-export test. The foal had been bought in a sale 3 weeks previously. (NB. The dam of the foal subsequently tested positive. The dam had a history of racing once in the UK in 2006. Two in-contact animals had been imported – one from Czech Republic and one from France).
  • West Nile Fever: there were 92 cases of reported in EU – no cases in Ireland.

6. A.O.B.

Mr. Blakedrew attention to the LobbyingAct 2015 legislation which came into force on 1 September 2015 and which may have implication for participants at ELG meetings, if relevant matters are discussed. Further information will be provided in advance of the next meeting.