A new law requiring horse owners to microchip their animals has been introduced to prevent abuse and improve welfare. From October 2020 it will be mandatory for all owners to microchip their horses, ponies and donkeys. All microchip numbers are to be entered into the new Central Equine Database. Ballinger Equine is launching a special offer to help horse, pony and donkey owners comply with the new law by the October deadline.
Ballinger Equine’s special offer
One of our veterinary surgeons will scan both sides of the whole of the neck. If no chip is present, one will be inserted into the nuchal ligament on the left side of the mid-crest region. The microchip number will be recorded in the passport and the owner is to then update the Central Equine Database at the first opportunity.
- Ballinger Equine’s new, reduced fee for microchipping is £24.00*
- If we insert a microchip whilst we are visiting your horse or pony for an examination or scheduled treatment, the microchipping fee will be reduced further to £18.00
- If our vet attends a yard and microchips three or more horses and/or ponies on the same yard at the same visit then the fee for each will be £18.00. The visit fee can be shared.
- Should the horse not have a passport, one will need to be arranged and the vet will record a Certificate of Markings. The fee for microchipping and recording the Certificate of Markings is £43.00. Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) fees are separately chargeable (Horse Passport Agency is £24.00).
*A standard visit fee is also chargeable. All amounts are inclusive of VAT.
Supporting animal welfare and equine traceability
The Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, has called on all horse, pony and donkey owners in England to get their animals microchipped ahead of 1 October 2020 as part of a move to tackle horse theft, improve equine traceability and improve animal welfare. A passport, microchip and up-to-date information on the Central Equine Database has many benefits for both you and your horse:
- It helps quickly re-unite owners with a lost or straying horse
- It prevents your horse from being slaughtered if they are signed out of the food chain
- It prevents theft and illegal sales
- It identifies horses in case of a disease outbreak
- It gives a clearer and more accurate picture of the horse population
Microchips and passports are a legal requirement
Remember – owners are legally required to make sure that their animals’ details are up-to-date on the Central Equine Database. This can be accessed online and holds information on all horses in England (as well as other parts of the UK) so owners can be reunited if their animal were to ever go missing.
If equine owners do not microchip their animals by October 2020 they could face sanctions from their local authority, including a fine.
