Horse passports anger owner

Pauline Grant says she has had no official guidance on the passports

The owner of a horse sanctuary in East Sussex has said she would rather go to prison than apply for horse passports for her animals.

The government department Defra is to introduce them to stop horses getting into the food chain.

Horse owners have been told they must obtain a passport by 30 June 2004, in order to bring the UK into line with European legislation.

Pauline Grant runs the Sussex Horse Sanctuary in Uckfield, and said it should be exempt from paying for the passports as it is a charity.

I would be quite happy to do a week inside Pauline Grant, Sussex Horse Sanctuary

She told the Politics Show she had received countless forms to fill in, but no clear guidance.

"We've had all these passports sent through the post, which is very confusing because they are all from different people at different prices.

"But we've actually never had anything official from Defra.

"As a charity I can't see why we need to be involved in it because none of our horses are going to go into the food chain - that's the whole basis of what we do.

"I would be quite happy to do a week inside," she said.

The government says the passports are needed to make sure that horses treated with medicines not cleared for use in food-producing animals cannot be slaughtered for human consumption.

The Politics Show is broadcast on BBC1 at 1200 GMT on Sunday 25 January.