URGENT MESSAGE : WE NEED YOUR HELP (Australian Horse Industry Council)

You need to ring or email the NSW MInister urgently. In NSW the Minister, Ian Macdonald is receiving extreme pressure from requests from the thoroughbred racing and breeding interests. The Minister is essentially supportive but needs some evidence to balance the pressure from the big money lobby. No matter where you are this is important.

It would help greatly if you could all contact the minister to make some points (as many as are relevant to you and modify as you see fit). We would not ask you to do this if it was not highly important and urgent. Please act now to send emails and ring and leave a message tonight and ring back tomorrow. Please send a copy of any emails to secretary@horsecouncil.org.au and faxes to (02) 5229 8244.

You are a owner / rider / shop owner / farrier / etc and your life is very involved with horses / you depend on them for income etc. (Just say how you are involved with horses. This will give an indication of the range of people involved outside racing)

As a person that is not involved with racing you object to the preference being given to thoroughbred interests. That you would like the Minister to continue to control and eradicate Equine Influenza in NSW.

This is a National program and the control depends on NSW successfully controlling the disease. You support the idea of buffer zones and strategic vaccination to contain the disease.

You would like to see movements freed up inside the containment area as soon as possible so that things can return to normal and the costs of movement restrictions can be eased.

That if the disease is declared as endemic to Australia you, as a recreational owner, will be forced to vaccinate your horses and that because your horses are not as valuable as a racehorse the cost to you will be proportionally higher.

That if Governments decide to call off the disease control effort without the support of the majority of horse owners that the Australian Horse Industry Council would be justified in refusing to pay any costs of disease control as required under the Cost Sharing Agreement.

Stop pandering to the thoroughbred lobby.

Please send to:

The Hon. Ian Macdonald
Level 33 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place, Sydney NSW 2000

Email: macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au

Phone (02) 9228 3344
Fax (02) 9228 3452

The Hon Ian Macdonald MLC Minister for Primary Industries
Locked Bag 21, ORANGE, NSW 2800

Australian Horse Industry Council