EU Transport Rule Proposals Pose ‘Potent Threat’ to Breeding Industry

[Wandering Eyes]

When someone as measured and experienced in his professional role as Des Leadon describes a situation as “the most potent threat to this industry there's ever been” then it is wise not to brush these words aside as hyperbole. 

The European Commission (EC), under the auspices of its Farm to Fork Strategy, has in the past few years been reviewing animal welfare legislation within the European Union (EU). As part of this work the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was instructed to deliver an independent report on the welfare of horses during transport, which, since its publication in September 2022, has raised significant concerns within the thoroughbred breeding sector. While racehorses and sport horses travelling to the races and competitions have been given a derogation within the proposed rule changes pertaining to journey time, veterinary inspections en route and recovery times at “control posts”, no such exemption has been granted for breeding stock and thoroughbreds travelling to auction houses.

Leadon, a breeder himself through his Swordlestown Little operation with his wife Dr Mariann Klay, is the veterinary advisor to the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA) and chairman of the veterinary advisory committees of both the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders' Associations (EFTBA) and International Thoroughbred Breeders' Federation (ITBF). It is in his European role which he, along with EFTBA chairman Joe Hernon and the heads of other related associations, has become embroiled in lengthy discussion with the European Commission in an attempt to seek a similar derogation for breeding stock. Like racehorses, broodmares come under the “high health status” category, being part of a highly regulated and professional sector of the horse world, but so far attempts to have them excluded from the proposals have not been successful.

Leadon acknowledges the importance of such welfare legislation for a vast swathe of the EU's animal population. “Of course this is very well-intended and admirable because they're seeking to improve the wellbeing of 1.6 billion animals that are transported and, against that background, of course the thoroughbred breeding industry is infinitesimally small,” he says.

Distinction between registered and unregistered horses dropped

What has proved problematic for the breeding sector is that within its report the EFSA has refused to draw a distinction between horses registered with a studbook and unregistered horses, as has previously been the case. Currently, registered horses are exempt from transport regulations when transported for “competition, races, cultural events or breeding”. However, the ESFA concludes that “as no scientific evidence can be found to document different effects of transport on the welfare of horses depending on their status as registered, in this scientific opinion, they are treated as one”. An agreed derogation for racehorses and sport horses means that they will continue to be treated separately, but within the proposed legislation, breeding stock will not.

Ireland is one of 27 EU member states, with only a limited number of those having a thoroughbred breeding industry of significant size, including France and Germany. The United Kingdom famously withdrew from EU membership following the contentious Brexit referendum of 2016, which has already brought about increased veterinary oversight and expense in the movement of horses between Britain and its EU neighbours. Despite now being out of the EU, Britain and Northern Ireland would still be affected by the proposed legislation changes during the natural course of the breeding season, when mares move to and from different countries to visit stallions.

[The proposed legislation is] focusing on multiple journeys for animals other than those that we deal with, and again, you have to come back to the starting point, and this is well intended for a large population of animals. But we are caught in the crossfire – Des Leadon

The current transport welfare legislation was adopted 20 years ago, and the recommendations among a raft of proposed changes stemming from the EFSA report pertain to space allowances for horses in transit by road, ferry and air, mandatory veterinary checks prior to departure, on arrival, and, for journeys of more than eight hours, at ports or inspection points. The latter would involve the unloading of horses at these centres where they would have to remain for seven days for monitoring before resuming their onward journey. It is this point in particular, which would also mean that horses have to remain on sales premises for a full seven days after arrival, that would play havoc with the transporting of breeding and sales stock, and indeed the sales scene as we know it. Furthermore, it is proposed that in-foal broodmares should not be allowed to travel beyond eight months of pregnancy.

Kirsten Rausing, chair of the ITBF and honorary president of the EFTBA, shares the concerns of Leadon. She says, “If implemented in the current proposed form, obviously this would be catastrophic for the thoroughbred breeding industry. It will affect all countries, not only the EU, but countries throughout Europe, including non-EU members, and those further afield. It will also affect thoroughbred auctioneers.”

This proposed legislation has now left the European Commission to be considered by the European Parliament and European Council, the two bodies which together are responsible for adopting European legislation.

Leadon says, “We've had repeated exchanges in correspondence and meetings to point out the real difficulties here, that this impacts on sales, on transfer of mares to foaling units from private farms that don't have the capacity to deal with foaling. And then, we can't then cover a mare at foal heat or at 28 days.” 

 

Des Leadon and Mariann Klay at the sales | Peter Mooney

 

He continues, “Then there is the system of mandatory official veterinary checks, which the EU doesn't have the resource to do and wouldn't be appropriate. That, particularly with compulsory unloading at all border crossings, would actually create a welfare problem, not solve one.

“That's why it's disappointing that the welfare groups are not in favour of a derogation. They're in favour of rule change. And the veterinary organisations in Europe are again not in favour of a derogation, which makes life very difficult for us because we have to argue against that background.”

Regulation versus derogation 

Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare (WHW), says that while that organisation is not in favour of any derogations for the revised equine transport regulations, WHW also does not agree with some of the proposals put forward, such as compulsory unloading at border crossings and seven-day detentions.

“Derogation is not the way out, actually it's getting a piece of regulation that is going to do what it seeks to do without having this massive impact,” he says. 

“We recognise that a seven-day residency would have a drastic impact on the breeding sector for no benefit. It actually could be argued [that it would have] a negative impact on equine health and welfare.

To a great extent, transport for [broodmares] is done in exactly the same conditions as for the races, therefore it is illogical and discriminatory that the breeding sector shouldn't be included – Dr Paull Khan

“Because we don't agree with derogations overall, we do not support an additional derogation. But what we do support is absolutely working together, and obviously now [the legislation has] gone through the commission and is out to parliament and to the council, we've certainly got this year to work together, to lobby together, to ensure that what comes in with that regulation protects on a basic level equine health and welfare, but actually allows the industry to flourish at the same time. We believe that that is eminently possible, because the bona fide breeders and the wider thoroughbred industry are doing that already. We absolutely accept that.”

He adds, “We are far more likely to have an impact if we work together to create that regulation, which does protect equine health and welfare, but also allows the breeding industry, in this example, to continue to operate.”

Dr Paull Khan, secretary-general of the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation, is also, along with Owers, on the board of the European Horse Network. He too has been engaged in the ongoing discussions in Brussels. 

“The focus has been on the farming sector and the transport of animals for slaughter, so it has been more difficult to get across the specific requirements of our sector,” Khan says. “We have been working with the commission for pushing three years now, and the message all along has been that we won't lose the current derogations, which we need to keep the whole show on the road, and they have taken that on board in that we have extensive derogations within the proposals, but they are related purely to travel for racing purposes and exhibitions.

“We have asked that they extend those to include breeding and sales travel, one reason being that by and large, and to a great extent, transport for those is done in exactly the same conditions as for the races, therefore it is illogical and discriminatory that the breeding sector shouldn't be included. But also we pointed to a number of requirements within the proposals, which if the derogations weren't extended to breeding and sales, and we didn't have any other changes made, would be pretty disastrous.”

He adds, “It is possible that if agreement can't be reached between [the European] parliament and council then it would return in a process called trialogue, in which the commission would then get involved again. But the focus of our attention for the next few months will be parliamentarians and the council, and what we want is to get that derogation extended to sales and to breeding.”

Breeding world united 

In France, where the racing world extends beyond the thoroughbred sector to AQPS, trotters and Anglo-Arabs, both France Galop and the Federation des Eleveurs du Galop (French TBA) have been actively involved in lobbying the European Commission in tandem with the EFTBA.

Pierric Rouxel, who oversees international matters on the French TBA committee, says, “We are all working on the same problem, first through the EFTBA, and we have been to Brussels together to try to convince the commissioners, but there are a lot of different influences around the subject.

“To start with, I would say that the idea to change the original rules was good because it was to stop the shipping of animals in poor health on long sea journeys to be slaughtered. This had to be stopped. But at the very beginning of it they excluded the racehorses and sport horses but very surprisingly they didn't exclude breeding stock, which is a nonsense considering the quality of the transport from one country to another for broodmares.”

 

Pierric Rouxel | Scoop Dyga

 

He continues, “Most surprisingly the equine vets will not help us in this situation, and so far the situation is not good because the first step was for it to go to the European Commission and [the legislation] has already gone to the European Parliament. There are experts working within the commission, who, when we saw them, agreed that it was a mistake that breeding stock had not been excluded from these new rules, but now it is in the hands of the parliament and that makes things much more difficult.”

Those difficulties in France could include a potential restructuring of the rules pertaining to premiums for those horses by stallions outside France which can be assimilated for eligibility for French owners' and breeders' premiums provided their dams are not out of the country for more than 180 days.

Artificial breeding methods a threat

Leadon's concerns extend to a reference within briefing notes for EU parliamentarians which pertain to the establishment of a fund which would facilitate the transition from transporting breeding stock to shipping female embryos. In negotiations to date the thoroughbred breeders have worked alongside the sport horse world and the International Horse Sports Confederation, which is an umbrella organisation for the governing bodies of all equine sports, including the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges of the Hong Kong Jockey Club is currently president of the confederation.

An alliance with other equine sports could also prove to be problematic, however, in that artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer are permitted within sport horse breeding but only natural coverings are accepted for horses to be registered in the thoroughbred sector, which has stood firmly against AI.

“You know the catastrophic consequences that would have for the thoroughbred industry against a declining stallion base and an increase in inbreeding coefficient,” Leadon says. “So these are very real anxieties, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we've had great focus on welfare and social licence and other threats to the industry, but this is the most potent threat to this industry there's ever been. And it's imminent.”

He adds, “It's important to lobby not only through the EFTBA, but for each of the member associations of the EFTBA to lobby their own national government. We've been very active in seeking statements, and we have letters of support for what we're doing from all of the European auction houses.

“[The proposed legislation is] focusing on multiple journeys for animals other than those that we deal with, and again, you have to come back to the starting point, and this is well intended for a large population of animals. But we are caught in the crossfire.”

The World Horse Welfare view expanded 

There is evident disappointment among those currently lobbying for a derogation within the proposed legislation for the thoroughbred breeding sector that they have not been backed by World Horse Welfare. Here, chief executive Roly Owers and director of communications and public affairs Jessica Stark set out the reasoning behind the charity's stance. 

Owers says, “We are not singling out the breeding industry; it is the fact that we don't believe any equine should have derogations. There are a number of reasons for that, but the primary one is that we know that derogations are increasingly seen as loopholes and actually what you have in the proposed regulation is the barmy situation where slaughter horses are almost better protected in legislation than a wide proportion of other horses, and the derogations go pretty wide, as is currently proposed, to make them pretty much unenforceable. 

“We feel that the basic legislation and regulation should be in place that covers all horses, of which we absolutely recognise a significant proportion of racehorses and sport horses would far exceed. We are not saying that all transport is a problem, because it is not, and a lot of transport we know and fully accept is done to a good standard. With that, we absolutely recognise that horses that are being transported to a good standard, should be able to do so with the minimum of friction. Having a seamless system for transport of horses that are being done for bona fide reasons and under good conditions, is what we equally support.

Because as it's currently proposed, breeding animals would not have a derogation, it would have a seismic impact on the sector – Roly Owers

“The second point is that we absolutely recognise that within the current proposals a lot of what's in there does nothing to protect equine health and welfare, and because as it's currently proposed, breeding animals would not have a derogation, it would have a seismic impact on the sector. 

“So, I think there's a lot of agreement on issues, like veterinary supervision of loading and unloading, around residency requirements, around temperature regulation on vehicles.

“Our number one call is to work for a regulation which provides that basic standard of protecting equine health and welfare, and removes other requirements that do nothing of the sort. There is certainly, through the European Horse Network and our discussions with the sector, a real focus on what is going to be a good piece of regulation that's effective. 

“The third principle point is that, in an age when sport and racing and indeed all use of horses and involvement of horses is coming under greater scrutiny, we think it's completely counterintuitive for this sport to be seeking derogations from basic regulation. They should actually be welcoming basic regulation and showing how they considerably actually exceed it.”

Jessica Stark takes the view that enhanced electronic traceability for horses is the way forward.

She says, “This EU regulation will be shaping how we transport horses for the next 20 years so it's important to be forward-looking. 

“But it's really an opportunity, we think, for [the equine] sport [sector] to get those systems in place with real-time individual equine traceability. Because this problem will not go away. The fact is that horses are being moved for a variety of purposes, and we don't want to open the floodgates more to bad practices which are unfortunately still quite prevalent. 

“We can see this being feasible if they have individual traceability, if they have an electronic system to make sure that the horse they said is transported is actually going here, stopping here, arrived at its destination and that was all verifiable and they could share that with the authorities. Because we want that frictionless travel for legitimate high-health, high-welfare movements. We want the sports to flourish. It's just that right now in the situation we have, that isn't the case, and even just these wider derogations for all sport horses, we think, would make the situation worse.”

In regard to seven-day stopovers for horses following a journey and compulsory unloading at ports and crossings, Stark adds: “We don't agree with that. We're very in line with the [thoroughbred breeding] sector. We don't support those suggestions. We don't think they would help welfare, we don't think they're practicable.”

 

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