EU donkey law 'is an ass' (From Gazette & Herald)

EU donkey law 'is an ass'

A SEASIDE donkey owner is calling the law an ass over an EU scheme requiring him to obtain passports for his animals.

Legislation designed to stop unregulated horse and donkey meat from getting into the human food chain has had owners like Guy Smith, who operates on Scarborough's beaches, seeing red.

There are about 900 donkeys that trot up and down UK beaches, giving youngsters traditional beach rides, with around 160 at east coast resorts.

Operators must apply by June 30 for a passport for each donkey, which must be shown before moving the animals, for example during competitions, or for breeding. Owners face a £5,000 fine or a month in prison if they fail to comply.

The application requires donkey owners to fill in sketches of the donkey from several different angles to show identifying and distinguishing marks.

"It's rather farcical," said Mr Smith, whose family has run donkey rides at Scarborough's South Bay for more than 200 years. "I've had to fill out a silly sketch for each of my 16 donkeys. I can see no benefit to me whatsoever."

Mr Smith, who became the first donkey operator in the country to have his animals microchipped, believes this measure is sufficient to identify his animals. He has also had to wait six months for his passports.

Horse dentist Ken Holmes, of Cliffe, near Selby, is also unhappy about the measure. He said: "My mule Ollie changes colour three times a year, so do I have to get three different passports? In winter he's in jet black, in spring he's grey with brown points and any time now he'll go iron grey.

"I think it's an EU directive that the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has succumbed to without thinking it through. It's a load of nonsense."

Mr Holmes said his three retired racehorses all had passports, but under the directive they had to have separate EU versions, which he thought ridiculous.

A spokesman for DEFRA said: "This is intended to prevent horses entering the human food chain if they have been administered with medicines that have not been approved for food-producing animals."

Updated: 10:54 Wednesday, June 23, 2004