Ms Maddie Doyle:

In terms of horses it is completely absent, even regarding change of ownership. When we are trying to secure a cruelty case or if we pick up an animal and try to trace an owner and the microchip is present, often if we are lucky enough to find an owner we get the old response that the person sold the horse. When we ask when the animal was sold we are told it was three or four years ago. We have come across sport horses and racehorses at 15 and 16 years old that are still registered to the person who bred them.