Horse Passports
Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Philip Davies (Shipley, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions there have been for the offence of a horse owner not having a valid horse passport in each of the last three years.

James Paice (Minister of State (Agriculture and Food), Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; South East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

Records held on the Animal Health and Welfare Management and Enforcement System (AMES) show that in the last three calendar years, the number of prosecutions in England were as follows:

The 2011 figures show one prosecution initiated. This figure corrects that given in my reply of 15 November 2011, Hansard, column 737W, to Julian Sturdy, which indicated that three prosecutions had been initiated. The figures in the above table relate to England only whereas the figures given in my previous answer were for England and Wales.

The AMES database records enforcement activity related to a registered holding that has been issued a Country Parish Holding number. Data relating to other premises, roadside checks of transporters, or other locations, or by bodies other than those local authorities that upload data to AMES, are not held.