HORSE owners were warned yesterday that they could face prosecution if they do not have a passport for their animals next year.

From February 28, it will be an offence to use a horse for competing or breeding, move a horse out of the UK or move it on to the premises of a new keeper, without a passport.

City of York Council, one of the first to be authorised to identify horses for the issuing of the passports, warned yesterday that it would enforce the new legislation.

The council said that any owners who do not have a passport when the new rules come into effect could face a fine of up to £5,000 or even be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

Council animal health officer Gill McGregor said: "The main purpose of a horse passport, which is valid for the lifetime of the animal, is to prevent horses that have been treated with certain types of medicine from entering the food chain.

"Owners will be required to declare whether or not the horse will eventually be intended for human consumption and, if this is the case, the passport will act as a record of relevant veterinary treatment."