Horse Racing Ireland claim systems for identifying thoroughbreds are ‘second to none’

Horse Racing Ireland has described the systems for identifying thoroughbreds in this country as “second to none”.

The ruling body’s director of equine welfare and bloodstock, John Osborne, pointed to new thermal microchips being implanted into this year’s foal crop as part of continuing improvements in horse welfare practices.

It is understood that traceability will be among issues raised in an hour-long RTÉ Investigates examination of what happens to horses after their racing career finishes that’s due to be shown this Wednesday.

Osborne has confirmed that both HRI and the Department of Agriculture Food & Marine have responded to questions put to them by RTÉ.

A system for lifetime traceability of horses, similar to the cattle sector, has been called for by many sectors, including politicians. Such calls increased after a 2021 BBC Panorama programme that revealed troubling abattoir practices in Britain as well as microchip fraud.

Osborne said he was waiting to view next week’s programme but insisted the racing industry here has a lot of things to be proud of in relation to welfare.

“Our identification systems are second to none. We were the first country in the world to implant microchips into our horses, the first to adopt the e-passport.

“We brought the EU with us on that because they now recognise it as a proper document whereas in the past, they were sceptical, that it had to be paper based. Now they understand the e-passport is the future,” he said.

“This year’s foal crop is being implanted with thermal microchips which not only tell the unique lifetime of the horse but can also read the temperature of the horse. That’s a healthcare leap forward. At the flick of a microchip scanner, you can tell one of the first markers of health status which is temperature. So, there’s loads of good stuff going on,” Osborne added.

The 2021 BBC Panorama investigation reported that 4,000 former racehorses were slaughtered in Britain and Ireland between 2019 and 2021. On the back of it, HRI asked the Gardai to investigate claims of microchip fraud after allegations of chips being swapped.