Never Mind the Sex Pistols - Here's the Bollocks!

BRT Horse Transport International Limited is off the road after it's director and transport manager, Chris Muir, was stripped of his operator's licence.

Christopher Muir was interviewed by the Vehicle Operator Standards Agency (VOSA) in June last year for failing to use a tachograph on one of his vehicles.

Mr Muir replied "Bollocks to EU rules" when Transport Commissioner Ms Sarah Bell asked him "perfectly reasonable question" at interview under caution. Her reply was that his response "sums up his approach to compliance" and subsequently banned him from acting as a transport manager for any company on 7 June 2010

Ms Bell said 'Those passionate about their animals are entitled to have their horses transported safely and lawfully. Mr Muir and BRT have failed to meet the requirements — this licence must be revoked."

In a written decision following the public inquiry in May, Ms Bell ruled that Christopher Muir, director of Hungerford, Berks-based BRT Horse Transport International, could not be nominated as transport manager in any traffic area from 30 July. This decision also therefore affects J&B Horse Transport, being set up by Jane I'Anson, with Mr Muir as transport manager. Ms Bell said Mrs I'Anson must find another person to take that role. The BRT premises in Hungerford are also the registered UK offices of Ireland-based transport company Doran Equine International.

Mr Muir has been hauled before the traffic commissioner before for unsatisfactory maintenance of his lorries - another document compiled by a VOSA vehicle examiner found that many preventive maintenance inspection sheets for company vehicles did not show brake tests and/or tyre tread depths.

"The reports of the vehicle examiner and traffic examiner taken separately and together demonstrate a blatant disregard for the operator licensing regime," Ms Bell said, and added that the findings of the VOSA officers made "unedifying reading" .

Mr Muir was a transporter regularly used by one of the UK based French 'Rescue' forums which imported horses from France that were destined for slaughter. On one of his trips to collect said equines some were on board his lorry for a total of 45 hours continuously without being unloaded and rested, showing a blatant disregard for the welfare of the horses in his charge and EU regulations regarding their transport.

Here are extracts of the blog that appeared on the rescue forum detailing all the collections and the traveling hours, with no mention of stopping to unload and rest the horses until their eventual arrival in the UK.

"arrived in Caen 9.30pm with 2 driver drove through the night to reach for 8am in the morning !!!" on our way by 1pm then another 4 hours journey down to collect from the middle of nowhere !!!

Horses on truck for 6 hours so far...

"another 4 hours drive to pick up , by 10.30 on the road again 6 hours driving to collect !!! arrived at 4.35 in the morning"

Horses on truck for 16.35 hours so far...

", away again on another long journey up north, stopped for something to eat and drink for all of us horses hay water & doors open and ourselves !!!! off we go again !!!

"driving all day for the last three pick ups which were 4 hours apart as well as the drive up to the north which was about 8.5 hours"

Horses on truck for 30 hours so far...

its very exhausting for the drivers but at every stop all the horses were happy & contented, our last collection was at where the horses were all watered & fed again. Then another 2 hour drive back to the ferry port at Caen, where we had a 2.hour wait to be loaded on the ferry.

Horses on truck for 34.20 hours so far...

"We left Caen at 11pm last night and got off the ferry at 7am this morning on the way out all the horse lorry.s were calledinto customs which wasted another 1 hours !!!! then on the road again to the yard by 9.20am all were in there boxes at the yard with hay & water all happy & content and travelled well. "

Horses on truck for 44.40 hours so far

"For the next couple of hours they had some R&R while the lorries were cleaned out and all hayed up & ready to go out to take the horses to there new expectant families !!! 2 lorries left at 11.30 i north & 1 south "

Only TWO hours rest before they continued on the lorry again, some going as far as Scotland.

The majority of these horses were not eligible for traveling under the TPA, so should have held health certificates for fitness to travel and only endured a maximum journey time of 12 hours travel, with twelve hours rest OFF the lorry. Any horses eligible to travel the full 24 hours MUST come off and be rested for another 24 hours before they are allowed to travel again. Clearly these regulations were ignored, as were those governing driver hours. Bollocks indeed!

INAG for Equines sincerely hope that the publicity Mr Muir's case has attracted will go some way towards highlighting the desperate welfare need for more stringent checks on every horse transporter at both UK port entry and exit - heaven forbid that journeys such as this are actually the norm thanks to the current lack of checks made!