EHN meeting 15 April in Brussels

At this second meeting of EHN, World Horse Welfare was welcomed as a new member. On the agenda was the adoption of the EHN minutes, key figures of the Horse industry, the first EHN conference and the next Equus Conference in Ireland 2013.

The objects from the EHN kick-off meeting on January 21 were adopted with the addition of animal health and welfare. The EHN objects currently consist of:

• animal health and welfare.

• exotic vius diseases
• breeding and husbandry
• transport and identification 
• rural development and environmental impact
• education, research and development
• funding of the Horse industry
• VAT and taxes
   

Roly Owers representing World Horse Welfare made a presentation of the organization. It was founded in 1927, as a campaigning organisation to prevent the export of live British horses for slaughter. Two thirds of its activities are in UK, with the focus being a horse “recycling centre”. It also centers on European key areas such as conditions of transport and the threat from diseases, in addition to running training courses worldwide. After  the introduction  World Horse Welfare was invited as new member in EHN which was instantly accepted

The European Draught Horse Federation, Akhal Teke Horses Ass and the European Equestrian Federation, all interested in a membership in EHN, are now invited to participate in a future meeting to present their activities and interests for the Network.

The participants agreed to organize a framework to deal with future applications. An application form will be drafted at a future meeting. For the present, applicants may contact Stefan Johanson; stefan.johanson@nhs.se

The preparation of the first EHN conference continues led by Florence Gras (EPMA), Frederic Chauvel (Network of European Equestrian Regions) and Cathy McGlynn (EFTBA). Target participants are members of parliament, as well as other politicians and officials. The conference main task is to state the economic importance of the Horse industry within the EU, together with the social opportunities that the industry creates and makes available to the society. The conference will be held on 18 November 2010 in Brussels.

The process of producing more reliable and relevant statistics of the Horse industry describing economic revenue, social employment and the dynamism (agricultural activities and shows) is an important task for EHN. The members have agreed on collecting ten common relevant figures within the industry.

The next EQUUS conference is expected to be held in Ireland in 2013 during its EU presidency. Cathy McGlynn (EFTBA) will proceed with further discussions with the Irish officials.

Finally the next EHN meeting will be held in Brussels on 23 June.