Horse passport legislation bites

The first horse passports prosecution launched in the UK has resulted in a conviction and fines totalling £8,000 against Doncaster dealer David John Thomas and his business partner Dagmar Blick.

The pair, trading as Horse Imports, faced 14 charges of passport irregularities involving 10 horses. They were found guilty of four counts (selling a horse without a passport and owning horses with incorrect passports) before Doncaster Magistrates Court on 11 September and were also ordered to pay £5,292.16 costs.

The prosecution is the result of a probe by Doncaster Trading Standards’ animal health team following a raid of the defendants’ Doncaster business premises on 31 August 2005. A total of 56 complaints were investigated, dating back to September 2004.

While it was the first passports prosecution launched, in July a separate case was settled in court resulting in a Durham-based business being fined £2,475 for a trade descriptions offence, including £475 for selling two horses without passports.

• This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (21 September, ’06)

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