40 Arabian horses exported to EU after 8-year ban

CAIRO – 29 May 2018: A total of 40 Arabian horses were exported to the European Union (EU), eight years after the EU had imposed a ban on the import of Arabian horses from Egypt in 2010.

The ban was lifted after the General Authority for Veterinary Services had adopted several measures to meet the EU conditions to lift the ban, including strict supervision and monitoring, according to a report issued by the General Authority for Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

In this regard, Mona Mehrez, deputy minister of agriculture for livestock, fish and poultry affairs, said that the exported horses stay at a veterinary quarry affiliated to Military Veterinary Treatment Facilities for 90 days, during which they undergo regular tests and medical examination to ensure that they are free of diseases that might prevent their export.

The EU conditions to import Arabian horses include banning the transfer of horses from the south to the north, registering and numbering horses, issuing veterinary certificates for export and carrying out serological surveys on horses in Egypt in coordination with the Armed Forces.

On the day of travel, a veterinarian official issues the final health certificate and the horses are transferred to the airport accompanied with a horse passport, the final health certificate and insurance policies.

Since 2011, the EU banned importation of Arabian horses from Egypt after officials from the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office, who visited Egypt in 2010 to evaluate the compliance with EU standards for live-horse importation, had found that Egypt did not meet the required standards. The ban was also imposed on the importation of other kinds of animals.

The EU report issued in 2010 referred to the lack of supervision and documentation by officials, which affected the confidence in the health status of equine animals, where confirmed cases of diseased animals were found.

Egyptian Arabian horses have enjoyed an international fame with 1,060 horse farms that apply the proper sanitary and veterinary standards on more than 25,000 of the pure-bred equines.

Egypt has five primary strains of Arabian horses, which are well-known for their wedge-shaped head, broad forehead, small ears, large eyes, large nostrils, small muzzles, and straight long legs. The strains include Keheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan, Hamdani and Hadban, which are all Arabic names.