The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has introduced a change of procedure regarding handwritten marking charts for equine identification.

Handwritten microchip numbers have been shown to cause transcription errors, leading to confusion, administrative burden, and in some cases deliberate falsification for food fraud purposes.

To protect Ireland’s reputation for food safety and authenticity, the Department is strengthening requirements.

Effective from 1 December:

- Where a chip number has been handwritten on a marking chart, operators must also provide supporting documentation.

- This will take the form of an emailed photo showing the chip number as displayed on a scanner to [email protected]

To allow a lead-in period, the new rule will apply to all applications received from next Monday.

This measure is designed to reduce errors, prevent fraud, and ensure the integrity of equine identification. We ask all members to take note of this change and prepare accordingly.

Thank you for your cooperation.