Mr. Denis Duggan:

On the thoroughbred side, the Senator is correct that there is one passport authority for both the UK and Ireland, Weatherbys. It is different in the sport horse sector. We are one of seven, or excluding Weatherbys we are one of six, on the sport horse side. If you have friends or neighbours who breed a Connemara pony which is purebred it will be registered with the Connemara Pony Breeders' Society, for example, which is an entirely separate passport organisation. A number of others also operate.

In Northern Ireland, three authorities are licensed to issue passports by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, one of which, Breeders Elite, is a breeders society. It is the only effective studbook, but the others issue what we refer to in our organisation as a "white book", which is the identity document issued by the Northern Ireland Horse Board, which is the one that featured in the documentary. Showjumping Ireland's Ulster region also issues an identity document. Dr. Egan brought two of them with her. The primary difference is that a studbook passport is a more valuable passport as it means the breeding is recorded. DNA testing is done, the breeding, pedigree and history-----