# CE2004078EN.01046702.xml

| 27.3.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 78/467 |
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27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 78/467

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(2004/C 78 E/0492)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3131/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(23 October 2003)

Subject:   ‘Sorraia’ horses

Subject:

A race of horses well on its way to extinction, the Iberian horse, popularly known as the ‘Sorraia’ horse, is seen by specialists as possibly the original primitive horse native to the Iberian Peninsula.

Their reasons are that it is faithfully depicted in cave paintings in the Spanish La Pileta cave and the Portuguese Escoural cave. It is believed that this type of horse was used for Roman cavalry, and that it was taken to the Americas during the colonial period, giving rise to the majority of the types of horse now found there. It is apparently also the source of the national races of horse to be found in Spain — the Andalusian horse — and Portugal — the Lusitanian horse.

Portugal is home to the largest population of these ‘Sorraia’ horses, estimated to number fewer than one hundred in 2002.

For these reasons, and others, the ‘Sorraia’ horse represents a unique genetic heritage, in view of its rarity and primitive character.

The Commission:

| — | is it prepared to support measures to preserve the ‘Sorraia’ horse; |
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is it prepared to support measures to preserve the ‘Sorraia’ horse;

| — | what information does it have on the origins and genetic heritage of this horse; |
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what information does it have on the origins and genetic heritage of this horse;

| — | is it prepared to cooperate with local authorities and institutions which are already developing programmes to protect this animal; |
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is it prepared to cooperate with local authorities and institutions which are already developing programmes to protect this animal;

| — | what avenues are open to those who raise these horses in order to obtain Community aid? |
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what avenues are open to those who raise these horses in order to obtain Community aid?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(2 December 2003)

(2 December 2003)

Over the period 1994-1999 the Community supported the conservation of biological and genetic diversity in agriculture by means of Regulation (EC) No 1467/94 (1), which launched a Community programme for the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture. It added value to the action taken in the individual Member States by promoting transnational cooperation. Any natural or legal person who was a national of a Member State and established in the Community could participate. The Regulation enabled 21 projects to be funded, including four on animal genetic resources. No project for the conservation of the Sorraia horse was proposed.

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Over the same period the Community supported the rearing of animals of local breeds in danger of extinction under Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 (2) (Article 2). Thirty-five animals of the Sorraia breed benefited from aid in Portugal.

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Since 2000 the Community has been supporting measures to protect endangered breeds under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (3) (Chapter VI) and its implementing Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 (4) (Article 14).

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That Article provides that Community support may cover the rearing of ‘farm animals of local breeds indigenous to the area and in danger of being lost to farming’. The breeds must meet the criteria for the thresholds under which a breed is considered to be in danger of being lost to farming laid down in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 445/2002. If the Member States choose to include such measures in their rural development plans (RDPs), aid is granted to farmers who enter into agri-environmental commitments for a minimum period of five years. Also, Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 applies to farm animals registered in the stud-books of approved organisations. The Portuguese authorities have informed the Commission that the ‘Associação Internacional de Criadores do Cavalo Ibérico de Tipo Primitivo — Sorraia (AICS)’ has been approved under Commission Decision 92/353/EEC (5) for the establishment of a stud-book for Sorraia horses.

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In the agri-environmental measure ‘Maintaining native breeds’ in the RDP for mainland Portugal (RURIS), the Portuguese authorities included provisions for the protection of the Sorraia breed. Therefore, since 2000, breeders of this endangered breed qualify for aid under the programme if they meet the terms and conditions laid down in it. Applications for eight Sorraia females were submitted in 2001 and 2002 and they are already receiving funding.

In addition, a new Community programme for the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture will soon be available, covering the period 2003-2006. The Commission proposal has almost been finalised. Once it has been adopted by the Council, interested parties (national and regional authorities, institutions and private individuals) will be able to respond to calls for proposals for measures launched by the Commission. Projects qualifying for Community part-financing will be selected by independent experts.

The Commission has information on the origins and genetic heritage of the Sorraia horse which is publicly accessible in the FAO database on farm animal genetic resources (http://dad.fao.org) and on the AICS website (www.aicsorraia.fc.ul.pt), among other sources.

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(1)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/94 of 20 June 1994 on the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture, OJ L 159, 28.6.1994.

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(2)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 of 30 June 1992 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside, OJ L 215, 30.7.1992.

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(3)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations, OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

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(4)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 of 26 February 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, OJ L 74, 15.3.2002.

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(5)  Commission Decision 92/353/EEC of 11 June 1992 laying down the criteria for the approval or recognition of organisations and associations which maintain or establish stud-books for registered equidae, OJ L 192, 11.7.1992.

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