Fjord Horse Registry of Scotland

Horse Passports Issued by Fjord Horse Studbook Society / Fjord Horse Registry of Scotland.

5th June 2008

We have been unable to resolve some of the details re passport validity. We have waited for over a month for clarification from DEFRA

Basically the current situation is that DEFRA says that English residents' existing FHRS issued Passports WILL remain valid because there is no English equivalent to the Scottish regulations that require a PIO to be operational for their passports to remain valid.

Scottish Residents' passports are now invalid and must be replaced (please see below for details).

So far neither the Scottish Rural Directorate nor DEFRA have clarified the situation re English residents taking horses to Scotland (eg going to a show or to stud).

We still hope to obtain clarification of these and other points and will update this page appropriately.

26th April Update re current situation

Unfortunately, we are still awaiting a formal answer to the validity of our passports issued to people living in England.

The fact is that there are differences in the legislation between Scotland and England.

The Scottish Government introduced amending legislation in 2007 that incorporated the requirement for a PIO to be currently operational as a PIO for the passports to remain valid. This included the Retrospective element.

However, in England DEFRA have (deliberately) not incorporated that requirement.

Because of the above there is a risk that English residents could inadvertently end up with TWO passports, which is at least as big a crime as NO passport.

The Cleveland Bay Horse Society and I are in regular communication with both the Scottish Government Rural Directorate and DEFRA. Our opinion is that the Business Address of the PIO and not the residence of individual passport holders should govern. Thus ALL our passports will need replacing, (to do otherwise could be chaotic as passports would become invalid if someone moved from England to Scotland and become valid again if they moved the other way). Thus we await the official definitive answer with interest.

In the mean time, The Cleveland Bay Horse Society (who are our recommended PIO and know the situation) are currently concentrating on our members resident in Scotland and my advice is to contact them ASAP.

As soon as we have the answer from DEFRA we will update this page and our English members can act accordingly.

Any one who has queries please contact us.

Because of Administrative problems we have lost our passport Issuing Organisation Status.

Unfortunately because of current EU legislation this means that even existing passports already issued will become invalid at the end of May.

All passport applications currently with us are being returned to sender.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Notwithstanding what you may be told elsewhere, the situation is as follows:-

1. We have lost our PIO status solely because Mr Stewart has recently been unable to process the applications quickly enough. There is no allegation from the Rural Directorate of the Scottish Government of any other wrongdoing.

2. Our existing passports become retrospectively invalid because EU regulations as modified by the Horse Passport (Scotland) Regulations 2007 require them to be from a currently operational PIO, and no other reason. The regulations vary from country to country - even within the UK! However, it is the "Business Address" of the Passport Issuing Organisation and NOT where the individual "Passport Holder" lives that determines which version of the regulations apply. Thus, even if you live outside Scotland the validity of your passport is governed by Scottish legislation.

3. If you need to get a new passport you are legally entitled to go to any EU based Passport Issuing Organisation. This has been verified in writing with John Peerless of the Rural Directorate, Animal Health Branch of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.

Note:- Which ever organisation you select we strongly advise you to make photocopies of your existing FHRS passport or other ID/Vaccination record etc before posting them. You should also do a letter of explanation - though the Cleveland Bay Society knows the situation. Because you are legally entitled to go to ANY EU based PIO (not just UK based) if your passport was issued by a foreign breed society you can contact them and they should be willing to do a change of ownership.

We have made arrangements with the Cleveland Bay Horse Society to issue "British Horse Passports" for any of our members who require them. They can record the Sire and Dam. There is a link or just go to their web site www.clevelandbay.com and click on the link on the home page immediately below the photo of a Carriage and Four.

If you would like a more detailed explanation or have any further queries then please email us.