The European Commission has been formally requested by an Irish MEP to re-include equines in official EU agricultural statistics.

Co-chair of the European Horse Network, MEP Nina Carberry, said this should be a "first step" in improving equine traceability Europe-wide.

Since the entry into force of an EU regulation covering integrated farm statistics in 2018, detailed country-specific and function-purpose figures on horses have not been included in the EU’s analysis, Carberry said.

She said it is "disappointing that since 2018, when the old legislation covering farm structure surveys was updated, there has not been a detailed and specific EU-wide collection of the exact number of horses across all EU member states".

"We need detailed figures across all 27 EU countries as part of overall EU-wide action to improve transparency and traceability in the equine sector," Carberry said.

In Ireland, following on from the 2024 equine census, the findings have already been converted into equine herd profiles.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine has said that significant progress is being made in relation to the development of a new equine traceability system.

MEP Carberry recently met with EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi, in Strasbourg to discuss Ireland's Equine Traceability Improvement Scheme.

They also discussed the possibilities for the EU "to take action on coordinated efforts to move towards a fully digitised horse passport system across the entire continent".

The Midlands North-West MEP believes that a "targeted revision" to the EU Animal Health Law would go some way to addressing the issues around transparency and traceability of the sector across Europe.