Correct official identification of equidae is essential, especially in the event of an outbreak of equine disease for which government control measures are required by law, such as contagious equine anemia or African horse sickness. Only if all horses have valid and correctly completed "identification documents" can it be ensured that necessary state disease control measures can also be properly implemented.
According to § 26 of the Ordinance for the Protection against the Spread of Animal Diseases in Livestock Traffic (Viehverkehrsverordnung - ViehVerkV), every animal keeper must notify the authority responsible for animal disease law, in Bavaria these are the veterinary offices at the district offices or the independent cities, of the start of his animal husbandry, stating the type and number of animals kept. The offices for food, agriculture and forestry then assign the 12-digit registration numbers (see also "Animal Husbandry; Applying for a Farm Number" under "Related Topics").
Equine Passport Regulation 2015/262
Since January 1, 2016, the new EU implementing regulation No. 2015/262, the so-called Equine Passport Regulation, has been in effect. This regulation establishes identical provisions throughout Europe regarding the identification of equidae as well as the form and issuance of the equine passport. The introduction of the new security elements is intended to prevent forgeries and thereby improve food safety for horses for slaughter, among other things.
Equine passports that have been issued properly up to now remain valid!
With the entry into force of the above-mentioned EU regulation, every equine must have an equine passport within 12 months after birth, but at the latest before finally leaving the birth farm.
The basis for the creation of an equine passport is the identification by means of a transponder, the so-called chip. The transponder number is used to register the equine in the database of the show office and the central HIT database (HIT = system of origin and information for animals).
The person responsible for carrying out the identification of equines is the animal owner, i.e. the person who actually has the animal in his care and is responsible for its keeping; irrespective of the purpose of the keeping and irrespective of the ownership.
The animal keeper must have the placing of the transponder carried out by a veterinarian or by an authorized person of a breeders' association/international competition organization.
The following bodies are responsible for issuing equine passports:
- For registered equidae (horses with pedigree and horses, incl. ponies, registered with an international association or organization that manages competition and race horses):
- Breeders' association or the breeders' association that maintains the studbook for the animal in question.
An overview of officially approved or recognized breeders' associations or breeders' associations can be obtained from the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (see "Related Links") - German Equestrian Federation (FN) for competition and race horses
- For all other non-registered equids born or kept in Bavaria, including so-called "leisure horses" and donkeys:
- Landesverband Bayerischer Pferdezüchter e. V. (Bavarian Horse Breeders' Association).
Duties of the animal keeper
Among other things, the animal owner must ensure that the following identification details in the equine passport are up-to-date at all times:
- Status as a slaughter horse/non-slaughter horse
- Status as registered or non-registered equid
- Details of the owner
Necessary changes must be reported to the responsible show office within 30 days and the passport must be sent in.
The equine passport must always be carried with the animal when it leaves its home stable. Exceptions to this are grazing, rides, etc. in the vicinity of the stable, training or testing as part of a tournament, emergencies and foals at foot.
Only equids that are properly identifiable and accompanied by an equine passport may be taken into the herd.
After the death of the equine, the passport must be returned to the respective passport office.
If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.