WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1948/98 by Liam HYLAND to the Commission. EU regulations on equine medicines
Date: 1998-06-30
Institutions: European Parliament, HYLAND
Subjects: animal welfare, equidae, horsemeat, human nutrition, leisure, public health, veterinary drug, veterinary legislation

C 31/44

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.2.1999

In this context, will the Commission answer the following questions:

1.

Is it possible for individual owners to declare their horses to be not a source of food, either permanently or for
the duration of treatment with medicinal products?

2. Can a horse be approved as a source of food after a qualifying period (to be determined) between the last

application of a medicinal product and slaughter?

3. Does the Commission see opportunities for EU-wide harmonization and simplification of the authorization

requirements for veterinary medicinal products?

4. How can the veterinary medicinal products industry be induced, by improvements in the authorization
situation, to retain as many long-established products as possible and thereby prevent treatment gaps arising?

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 82, 19.3.1998, p. 14.

(1999/C 31/057)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1948/98

by Liam Hyland (UPE) to the Commission

(30 June 1998)

Subject: EU regulations on equine medicines

Council Regulation No 2377/90 (1) stipulates that maximum residue limits must be established for any substance
intended for use in food producing animals. In this regard, no distinction is made between horses bred for food
production and recreational or sport horses.

Is the Commission aware that, as a result, the number of products/medicines which have been granted a
marketing aurhorization for use in horses is severely restricted?

Has the Commission considered the option of introducing traceability for horses through the use of methods such
as micro-chips for identification and medication passports to ensure that:

› the consumer is guaranteed protection with regard to horse meat in the food chain, and

› a wider range of the best possible treatments is available for recreational and sport horses?

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p.1.

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1495/98, E-1537/98, E-1725/98, E-1921/98 and E-1948/98
given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(20 July 1998)

Horses (and other domestic solipeds like donkeys, ponies etc.) are used as (cid:145)food-producing animals(cid:146) in the
Community. If they are slaughtered and their meat is intended for human consumption the rules of Council
Directive 64/433/EEC (1), which regulates health conditions for the production and marketing of fresh meat, have
to be applied.

The marketing of a veterinary medicinal product has to be authorised according to the requirements of Council
Directive 81/851/EEC of 28 September 1981 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
veterinary medicinal products (2). Before a marketing authorisation can be issued for a veterinary medicinal
product for use in animals that will subsequently be used as food, a positive evaluation must be carried out to see
what residues from any pharmacological active substance will remain in the food products that will be produced
from the animal. This evaluation has to be carried out according to Council Regulation (EEC) 2377/90 of 26 June
1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary
medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin (3).

It has been suggested that horses kept for sporting purposes should be excluded from these requirements.
However, many horses enter the meat production chain at the end of their lives, irrespective of whether they were
kept for meat production or recreational purposes. This is also the case with horses in Member States where