Thursday, 15 March 2007

Equine Passports

The petition is entitled Cancel the Charge of Equine Passports and the explanatory notes say
"I understand that the charge of a passport for your Horse is £30 i wish for you to abolish this charge as this ruling for every horse in the UK to have a passport was a valid Law but to charge for this is unreasonable."

A quick prod at the BBC shows that since the 28th of February 2005 it has been compulsory to have a passport for a horse if you wish to move it from place to place, or to sell it.

So far as I can tell, it's not strictly necessary to have one otherwise. And according to another BBC story, the cost is £75, not £30 ...

So. Broadly speaking, charging for compulsory things makes me twitch. But actually, these aren't compulsory, any more than a driving licence, a TV licence or a passport are compulsory. You can choose not to have a horse ...