Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Connemara Pony Breeders Society (CPBS) has been approved by my Department to maintain the Studbook for Connemara Ponies and in this regard operates a breeding programme for the breed.

Research carried out by the Connemara Pony Breeders Society, in conjunction with Weatherby's has enabled them to test for the presence of the HWSD gene. My Department has allocated funding to the Connemara Pony Breeders Society under the Equine Infrastructures Scheme since 2015 to facilitate this project.

The results from this project will enable the Society to plan for the future and implement a strategy to manage this genetic defect identifying potential carriers.  This should decrease the incidence of the disease with a view to eliminating it for the Connemara pony population.

The Connemera Pony Breeders Society has informed my Department that testing of all purebred Connemara ponies is mandatory and a prerequisite for registration of all foals born since 2016 and that all colts/stallions brought for CPBS inspection must have an HWSD test completed. 

Untested mares (born pre 2016) are encouraged to avail of testing when brought for inspection.

All test results undertaken privately are published on the database with the owner’s consent (GDPR 2018). EU law requires the Society to register all purebred Connemara ponies of proven parentage.

Regarding part-bred ponies, I am of the view that a programme designed to reduce the incidence should be concentrated on the purebred population where proper ancestry records have been recorded and breed make-up can be determined.