Ireland has announced plans to set up a new centralized equine database, in response to the Europe-wide horsemeat scandal.
The information on the database will be used by the agriculture department's veterinary staff to supplement current checks at slaughterhouses.
By next week, the database is expected to be updated with details of 70% of equine animals registered since 1 January 1980. The details will be available on the Animal Identification and Movement (AIM), a system which already contains data on cattle, sheep and pigs.
In order to update the database, the government plans to collaborate with Passport Issuing Organisations -the organisations which manage horses and are authorized issue passports for horses.
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said that facilities are being put in place during this weekend to receive and record equine animal registration details received from Passport Issuing Organisations.
"I have acted swiftly, as I promised to do in the immediate aftermath of the equine DNA issue and will move to the final stage in the establishment of a single Passport Issuing Agency once EU legislation provides me with the overarching legal base to put this into effect," Coveney added.
In January, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that horse meat had been found in frozen beef burgers. Over the next few months, the horsemeat scandal widened after it was found that several facilities were supplying beef tainted with horsemeat. In addition, thousands of beef products were recalled across Europe over horsemeat contamination.
