Has the EU recognised the UK’s studbooks? Does this change which equines need a Government issued ID?

21 Feb 19

The UK has applied to the EU for recognition of the UK’s studbooks. The EU has not provided recognition at this stage, and we do not anticipate that they will do so before April 12th.

If UK studbooks are recognised, equines in those studbooks will no longer require Government issued ID documents in order to travel from the UK to the EU.

  • What about export health certificates?

The EU has specific export health certificates for ‘registered horses.’ These health certificates have less onerous requirements than those for unregistered equines.

At the moment, only horses registered with a national branch of an international body for sporting and competition purposes are eligible for these certificates. If the EU recognises the UK’s studbooks, horses in these studbooks would become eligible to use the EHCs for ‘registered horses’ and benefit from the less onerous requirements.