Plans for horse database fast-tracked

The details of more than 70% of all horses registered in this country for the past 33 years will be recorded on a centralised system by tomorrow as part of the response to the horsemeat scandal.

In an effort to tighten up controls on the movement of animals, Simon Coveney, the agriculture minister, said he has speeded up the establishment of an equine database which will contain the passport information of all horses registered here since Jan 1980.

The passports contain information about the animal — including any medicines administered to it — and must be presented to an abattoir to determine if it is fit for human consumption.