Main veterinary decisions at the FEI Bureau Meeting in Instanbull

The FEI Bureau confirmed the following appointments to the FEI Technical Committees at its meeting held in Istanbul (TUR) yesterday, 6 November:

FEI MEDICAL COMMITTEE

Dr Peter Whitehead (GBR) was appointed as chairman for a term of three years (2012-2015) to replace Dr Craig Ferrell, who passed away earlier this year. Dr Allen Sills (USA) was appointed as member until 2013.

VETERINARY

In order to support the FEI’s efforts to have FEI horses acknowledged at as high-health high-performance horses by national authorities and to ensure they are granted special travel privileges, the Bureau

• Endorsed the production of an FEI Biosecurity Guide in 2013.

• Supported the wider promotion of the use of horse passports for sporting needs. A passport is a means of identifying ownership and basic breeding. It is a record of event attendance, vaccination, past disease and anti-doping testing. It is also a place to keep a microchip number. The FEI has consolidated the agreement with the European Union which now accepts FEI horse passports as valid EU approved passports as long as they are continuously validated.

However there is a need for more National Federations to have passports of a suitable standard.

• Endorsed having a closer working relationship with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as a way for the FEI to better promote the principles and objectives of the OIE.