Standards & advice update: changes to equine ID guidance

At its April 2019 meeting, our Standards Committee approved changes to the supporting guidance to the Code of Professional Conduct regarding compulsory equine microchipping in England.

The changes were prompted by new legislation, namely the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018. The major resulting changes and what they mean for you are set out below.

What are the changes?

The following has been added to Chapter 29 – Microchips, microchipping and animals without microchips:

Compulsory microchipping - equines
England

29.7  Under the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018, from 1 October 2018, the microchipping of equines became compulsory in England for:
a) Equines whose previous microchip ceases to function, or
b) Equines arriving in England having been subject to an alternative method of identity verification.

29.8  From 1 October 2020, in England the microchipping of all equines will become compulsory. This includes those equines born before 30 June 2009, which had previously been excluded from mandatory microchipping in the Horse Passport Regulations 2009.

29.9  Excluded from the compulsory microchipping regulations are equines which are deemed to be wild or semi-wild, that is, unless a wild or semi-wild equine is treated with a veterinary medicinal product. In this case it would require a microchip to be implanted and a passport to be issued within 30 days of treatment.

29.10  Owners or keepers of equines have a legal obligation to have their equine microchipped and registered with the Central Equine Database (www.equineregister.co.uk), if they have not done so already. The owner or keeper is responsible for keeping these details up to date and, whenever there is a change of keeper, the new keeper must ensure their details are recorded with the database within 30 days of the transfer. If a client refuses to microchip their equine, the veterinary surgeon should do the following:
a. Inform the client of their legal obligation to microchip the equine; and/or b. Consider reporting the client’s non-compliance to the Local Authority. If done so without client consent this will considered as a breach of client confidentiality, however, this breach will be justifiable under public interest grounds. (See Chapter 14 – Client Confidentiality)

29.11  A veterinary surgeon who implants a microchip into an equine must ensure that the microchip number is unique. Failing to do so is a criminal offence. A veterinary surgeon can fulfil this obligation by ensuring the following:
• That the microchip is obtained from a reputable source.
• That the microchip is ISO 11784/5 compliant.
• That the microchip number is not already registered to another equine on the UK’s Central Equine Database. Currently, the quickest way is to use the National Equine Chip Checker hosted at www.equineregister.co.uk. If the microchip number is already registered, this chip should not be inserted, instead the veterinary surgeon should report the fact of a duplicate equine microchip to their local Trading Standards office.

29.12  A veterinary surgeon must declare on the equine’s passport, prior to treatment, whether the medication to be administered would establish the equine’s status as not intended, or intended, for human consumption. Failing to do so is a criminal offence, unless the owner or keeper has failed to produce the equine’s passport or smart card when requested. If the passport or smart card is not produced, it is permissible for a veterinary surgeon to provide the client with a form identifying the equine, stating the medication administered, and advising the client that they need to contact the passport issuing office for a new passport. An example of such a form can be found in the ‘Related Documents’ box.

29.13  In England, there is no longer a legal obligation for a veterinary surgeon to check whether an equine has a pre-existing microchip. However, veterinary surgeons should still undertake a clinical examination (i.e. scan for a microchip, or check for scars which could be caused by removal of a microchip) in order to avoid multiple microchips being implanted, and to avoid mistakes being made in relation to the equine’s food chain status.

Scanning for microchips – equines
England

29.33  A veterinary surgeon should scan an equine for a microchip and ensure that the microchip number can be reconciled with an equine’s passport or smart card. If there is no microchip, a veterinary surgeon should check identifying markings on the equine and match these to the description of the equine from the passport.

29.34  Exceptions to the routine scanning of equines may apply when there may not be medication being administered during an equine appointment; or when the equine may have been examined by the veterinary surgeon many times before and the food chain status is already determined.

The following has been amended in Chapter 29:

New guidance is in bold text and removed guidance is struck out.

Horses

29.15  The RCVS considers the microchipping of horses within the nuchal ligament to be an act of veterinary surgery. The Equine Identifications (England) Regulations 2018 specifically require that a microchip may only be implanted in an equine by a veterinary surgeon.

Explainer

Here are some of the key points in a nutshell:

• The microchipping of equids is compulsory in England for equids whose previous microchip ceases to function or for equids arriving in England having been subject to an alternative method of identity verification.
• From October 2020, in England, the microchipping of all equids will become compulsory.
• Excluded from the compulsory microchipping regulations are equids which are deemed to be wild or semi-wild.
• Microchips may only be implanted in an equid by a veterinary surgeon.
• A veterinary surgeon who implants a microchip into an equid must ensure that the microchip number is unique, before it is inserted. See paragraph 29.11 of the supporting guidance to see how this requirement can be met.
• In England, there is no longer a legal obligation for a veterinary surgeon to check whether an equid has a pre-existing microchip. However, veterinary surgeons should still undertake a clinical examination in order to avoid multiple microchips being implanted.

Further updates and information

Scottish legislation has now been enacted in relation to equid identification, following the lead of the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018. As a result, the Standards Committee will be discussing further required changes to the supporting guidance at their September meeting. Watch this space!