No-Deal Brexit Will Disrupt EU Horse Travel

[Wandering Eyes]

NEWMARKET, UK—The potential difficulties in transporting horses from Britain to the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit were outlined by DEFRA Policy Manager Simon Waterfield at an extraordinary general meeting of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) on Wednesday.

“The no-deal planning is only a contingency and we are still hopeful that we are able to strike a deal with the EU,” Waterfield stressed. “If we leave with a deal all existing arrangements under the Tripartite Agreement will remain in place to the end of 2020.”

The impact of Britain leaving without a deal cannot be discerned fully until the European Commission decides whether or not Britain will be listed with ‘third country’ status after its departure from the EU. This should be decided at a meeting of European vets on March 20. If, in the event of no deal being agreed and Britain not being granted a listing—which is believed to be unlikely—then movement of all animals between the UK and the EU would be stopped immediately after Britain’s departure on March 29.

“Movements of animals are important to all other 27 EU member states,” Waterfield said. “So there’s no doubt that the commission knows how serious it would be for us not to get a listing, and that is particularly the case for France and Ireland when it comes to horses.”

With a high number of cross traffic between Britain, France and Ireland for breeding and racing, a no-deal Brexit even with a third country listing for the UK would still interrupt Thoroughbred transportation as those three countries in particular have come to know it.

With regard to horses travelling to Britain, current arrangements will remain in place even in the event of no deal. However, when it comes to travelling in the opposite direction, horses would need to have an Export Health Certificate, even for a short stay such as a race meeting, with the level of blood tests required being dependent on the outcome of the meeting of March 20. It is hoped that blood tests will only be required for Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) and Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) but it is possible that those for Glanders and Dourine will also be necessary.

“In this case, the government will not charge for the blood tests or health certificates, though it will be up to individual vets to decide their own charges for such services,” Waterfield added.

On top of extra paperwork, the other sticking point of a no-deal Brexit would be the requirement for horses arriving in Ireland or mainland Europe from Britain to pass through a Border Inspection Post. Currently only two exist in Ireland—at Dublin and Shannon airports, though a third is under construction at Dublin ferry port. There are currently no posts at sea ports in northern France, though work is underway at Calais, which has both a ferry port and the Eurotunnel rail terminal. The majority of equine traffic from Britain to France is via ferry to Calais, Caen, Cherbourg or Le Havre, while most horses entering Ireland from Britain would do so via ferry to Dublin or Rosslare.

Waterfield also advised that breeders can find details on customs processes for importing and exporting horses in the HMRC Partnership Pack on the government’s website.

Also at the TBA meeting was Dr Richard Newton of the Animal Health Trust, who gave an update on the Equine Influenza (EI) situation which brought British racing to a standstill for six days in February. So far in 2019, there have been 41 outbreaks of EI in England and Scotland compared to only two last year, and all of these are believed to be of the Florida Clade 1 strain of the virus. Both Newton and TBA Chairman Julian Richmond-Watson reiterated calls for increased vigilance of biosecurity, particularly in the movement of horses, and stressed the importance of six-month booster vaccinations for Thoroughbreds.

“We’re in a phase where the vaccines are not working optimally but the prospect of the vaccines matching the virus we have now will not really be likely for years, rather than months,” said Newton.

“Our advice to breeders is don’t vaccinate foal before six months of age. If they are from well vaccinated mares they should be protected by the maternal antibodies.”

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