Update • Canadian Equine Identification & Traceability Program Officially Launched

Equine Canada ULIN Committee Update

On January 13, 2005 the Equine Canada committee on the Unique Lifetime Identification Number for equines gave an update on their activities over the past year and officially launched the Canadian Equine Identification & Traceability Program.

The equine ULIN is a proposed 12-digit numbering system that would see every horse in Canada assigned a unique number for tracking purposes. The government initiative to number livestock stems mostly from recent food-safety and disease-control issues, such as the BSE crisis. Horses are included in the initiative because they are often in close contact with livestock such as cattle, the equine population is very mobile, and horses are slaughtered for human consumption in Canada. Vel Evans, committee spokesperson, stated that “The primary reason (for the proposed system) is to mitigate the impact of an animal health emergency.”

The equine ID system proposes that there would be one unique number for the lifetime of the horse. Benefits to the industry would include enabling an easier method of tracking horses over multiple owners. The horse's ID would include a visual description of the horse – while options such as microchipping or other permanent ID have been investigated, none are on the table at this point. What is being proposed is that this paperwork would be available in a central database, so horse owners would be able to log into an account and access the information at any time. They would also be able to print out the documents at any time so the paperwork is available when needed.

It is also being proposed that the numbering system would fit in with current registry practices. The first three digits would represent the animal’s country (Canada), the next three would designate the registry the animal is under, and the last nine would be the registry’s designated number for that animal.

Nevertheless, there is a very strong current of resentment running through horse owners. Ironically, resentment seems to be strongest from Western disciplines and breeders, who should have had the closest involvement with the BSE crisis. Additionally, English riders are already familiar with the passport system already in place for Class A shows. Aside from legitimate cost concerns, debate has been raised about whether an equine tracking system could actually help with disease prevention and control in any practical manner. Ms. Evans addressed this issue with an example of the recent vesticular stomatitis outbreaks in the US.

“Canada, unlike the United States, has an open-border policy between provinces,” she stated. Should an outbreak of VS occur in Canada, theoretically the entire Canada/US border could be closed, rather than individual provinces or regions.

Evans emphasized that this proposed program is being driven by horse owners who are dedicated to finding the lowest possible cost options for horse owners, and that the system would be designed to enable our current freedome of movement to continue and even improve.

Whether these intentions carry over into actual practice will of course remain to be seen.

To view a PDF of the committee’s presentation, and all previous presentations, visit the National Equine ID & Traceability Project page on Equine Canada’s website, www.equinecanada.ca.