The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has made significant progress on implementing the 37 recommendations from Professor Patrick Wall’s report aimed at improving horse traceability and welfare in Ireland. These reforms address weaknesses in ownership recording, death reporting, and enforcement of equine identification laws, with key initiatives including a new IT system for traceability, stricter inspections, education programs, and support for end-of-life welfare. The new system, based on the 2024 equine census, is expected to be operational by year-end, enhancing accountability and protection for horses throughout their lives.

However, Professor Wall emphasizes that without full integration and cooperation between the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI), the traceability system will remain vulnerable to exploitation. Currently, horse movements across the border are largely untracked, with no equine census or premises numbers in NI, creating loopholes for fraud and unregulated exports for slaughter. While NI’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is preparing legislation to improve traceability and enforcement, Wall insists that only a harmonized, all-island approach with real-time data sharing can effectively safeguard horse welfare and prevent regulatory evasion.