Government response

Myth bust: Marketing campaign on Horse Identification rules

This was to improve disease control and help prevent the export of contaminated meat.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 27 September 2011

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The myth: The Sun and Daily Telegraph have suggested that Defra funded a marketing campaign to ask travellers not to eat their own horses.

The truth: It was nothing to do with eating horses. The campaign explained changes to EU rules which meant owners needed to have their foals and any previously unidentified horses micro-chipped when they applied for horse passports. This was to improve disease control and help prevent the export of contaminated meat. No part of the campaign involved asking the owners to promise not to eat horse meat.

Published 27 September 2011