Contact methods for veterinarians.

In Europe, equines destined for human consumption (hereafter called slaughter equines) are subject to the same restrictions of usage of veterinary drugs as other food-producing animals, with amendments regulated in the so-called ‘positive list’, Regulation (EC) No. 1950/2006. Due to the complex legal requirements for drug administration in slaughter equines, it might be that specific knowledge regarding the legislation of slaughter equines may be insufficient among veterinarians, equine owners, and equine keepers. To study this assumption, three target group-specific surveys were conducted in 2021. Answers from 153 equine treating veterinarians, 170 equine owners, and 70 equine keepers were included in the analysis. In total 68.4% (91/133) of the participating veterinarians, the regulations of the ‘positive list’, Regulation (EC) No. 1950/2006, were ‘rather complicated’ to ‘complicated’. Among the participating veterinarians, 38.4% (58/151) did not or could not answer correctly how to proceed if a slaughter equine is scheduled to receive phenylbutazone, usage of which is prohibited in all livestock by Regulation (EU) No. 37/2010. Simultaneously, 56.2% (86/153) of the participating veterinarians named phenylbutazone as the, or one of the, most often used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Altogether, 41.2% (70/170) of participating equine owners and 42.9% (30/70) of equine keepers did not know under which circumstances an equine can legally be slaughtered for human consumption. In total, 34.3% (24/70) of the equine keepers classified their knowledge of national regulations for animal keepers regarding the documentation of drug usage in equines as ‘poor’ to ‘nonexistent’. This lack of knowledge in all three surveyed groups, combined with the complex legal regulations regarding the usage and documentation of drugs in slaughter equines, could result in missing and false documentation, treatment of slaughter equines with prohibited substances and therefore pose a risk factor for drug residues in equine meat.

在欧洲，用于人类食用的马属动物（equines，以下简称屠宰用马属动物（slaughter equines））需与其他食用畜禽遵循相同的兽药使用限制要求，相关修订条款由所谓的“阳性清单”（positive list）即《欧共体第1950/2006号条例》（Regulation (EC) No. 1950/2006）进行规范。鉴于屠宰用马属动物的兽药使用存在复杂的法律要求，兽医、马主及马匹饲养者群体中，针对屠宰用马属动物的相关立法专业知识可能存在不足。为验证这一假设，研究团队于2021年针对三类目标群体开展了专项调研。本次分析共纳入153名马病诊疗兽医、170名马主及70名马匹饲养者的调研回复。共有68.4%（91/133）的受访兽医认为，“阳性清单”（Regulation (EC) No. 1950/2006）所规定的相关法规难度处于“较为复杂”至“极为复杂”区间。在受访兽医中，38.4%（58/151）无法正确回答当屠宰用马属动物需使用保泰松（phenylbutazone）时的应对流程——而根据《欧盟第37/2010号条例》（Regulation (EU) No. 37/2010），所有畜禽均禁止使用保泰松。与此同时，56.2%（86/153）的受访兽医将保泰松列为最常用的非甾体抗炎药（non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs）之一，或为最常用的非甾体抗炎药。总计41.2%（70/170）的受访马主及42.9%（30/70）的马匹饲养者不清楚，马属动物在何种条件下可合法用于人类食用屠宰。共有34.3%（24/70）的马匹饲养者将自身针对马属动物兽药使用记录的饲养者国家法规相关知识水平，评定为“较差”至“完全缺失”。上述三类受访群体均存在的知识缺口，叠加屠宰用马属动物兽药使用及记录相关的复杂法规要求，可能导致记录缺失与不实、屠宰用马属动物违规使用禁用药，进而对马肉中的兽药残留构成风险隐患。