Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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No specific research has been carried out by my Department, nor am I aware of any other.

There are a number of reasons that likely have contributed to the reduction in the number of horses slaughtered in recent years. Ireland's horse population appears to have risen throughout the 1990s and 2000s, coinciding with a period of rapid economic growth, with large foal crops in the thoroughbred and sport horse sector, but also in the leisure horse and other sectors. The financial crisis and economic downturn from 2008 onwards led to two consequences for the horse population (i) a significant reduction in the output from the equine breeding sector, such that fewer mares were bred and hence fewer foals were born (ii) a large increase in unwanted horses and a significant decrease in the value of horses. This increase in unwanted horses led to a significant spike in the number of horses sent for slaughter from 2008 onwards, with a peak of more than 24 000 horses slaughtered in 2012, and a steady fall since then to just under 2000 horses slaughtered in 2023. The number of stray and abandoned horses being seized by local authorities under the Control of Horses legislation showed a similar pattern, with the numbers of horses seized reaching a peak just under 5000 in 2014, and the numbers falling very significantly since then to less than 500 per annum in recent years.

My Department also supported a number of initiatives by equine welfare groups, which focussed on the reduction of indiscriminate breeding of equines - this has also contributed to the reduction in the overall horse population over the last decade. These initiatives included subsidised horse castration clinics and education projects and it is the Department’s view that these initiatives have had a very positive impact on the scale of unwanted horse problems in Ireland

In relation to the number of slaughter plants, individual plants have closed for a variety of reasons over the years, but the current relatively small numbers of horses slaughtered annually in Ireland is a significant factor which would likely limit the commercial viability of more than one equine slaughter plant operating.