World meat industry news

On November 27 Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting on the development of horse breeding in Russia. The event was attended by the largest horse breeders, as well as the    representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and of the scientific community, the press service of the agricultural department reports.

 As Dmitry Patrushev noted, horse breeding historically occupies a special place in the livestock industry of Russia. For the last 12 years  the number of horses in Russia has been growing steadily and today amounts  more than 1.4 million heads. Horse owners are provided with subsidies to compensate the costs of breeding activities, and the annual amount of these subsidies is about 125 million rubles. This yea 139 breeding organizations received state support.

However, for the further development of the industry it is necessary to solve a number of existing problems, noted the participants of the meeting. It is necessary to work on the elimination of legislative barriers, improving the infrastructure of racetracks, and also to resume the participation of the Russian Federation in the main international equestrian organizations.

To solve these problems, the Ministry proposed horse breeders and equestrian associations to unite in a self-regulating organization. Such a structure could establish additional standards and control over the testing of horses, as well as represent Russia at significant international exhibitions and races. Dmitry Patrushev stressed that the Ministry should directly supervise the process of creating such an organization.  

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture also proposed to hold a similar meeting in May to discuss the interim results of the work on the strategy and its key parameters. According to him, only the joint work of the department and horse breeders will contribute to the development of equestrian affairs in Russia.