Purple Zones
Poor old DPI - damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Yes, the DPI did consult about extending the purple zone. Right from day 1 of the Scone purple zone the DPI was getting requests, not just from TB breeders, to extend the same concessions to other areas. While I was ILO at Orange I spoke to numerous owners and breeders about extending the purple zone. I grant that owners whose properties were uninfected felt that if the red zone was made purple they might get the infection they had tried to prevent. They can still maintain their own biosecurity until their horses get vaccinated. The rate of infections was slowing and DPI felt that they could delay no longer. Like many decisions that are being made - there is a compromise between perfect disease control on one hand and reducing the economic effects on the other.
There are many quarter horse and stock horse breeders in the Upper Hunter and Tamworth areas who were just as affected as any TB breeder in the loss of their businesses. Ask the warmblood breeders in the lower Hunter how they were faring. Ask Heath how he was doing with the loss of mares to his stallions. It was possible to delay the decision for other breeders because they are not nearly as committed to the 1 September start to the breeding season. If the decision to extend the purple zone was delayed any further it would have meant financial ruin for these breeders.
There is no restriction on slaughter or use of horses vaccinated with the GMO vaccine except for human consumption in Australia. The French produce the vaccine and are quite happy to eat horses vaccinated with it. That's their choice. The vaccine is a live organism but it does not survive in the horse.
Rod Hoare
Board Member AHIC
Yes, the DPI did consult about extending the purple zone. Right from day 1 of the Scone purple zone the DPI was getting requests, not just from TB breeders, to extend the same concessions to other areas. While I was ILO at Orange I spoke to numerous owners and breeders about extending the purple zone. I grant that owners whose properties were uninfected felt that if the red zone was made purple they might get the infection they had tried to prevent. They can still maintain their own biosecurity until their horses get vaccinated. The rate of infections was slowing and DPI felt that they could delay no longer. Like many decisions that are being made - there is a compromise between perfect disease control on one hand and reducing the economic effects on the other.
There are many quarter horse and stock horse breeders in the Upper Hunter and Tamworth areas who were just as affected as any TB breeder in the loss of their businesses. Ask the warmblood breeders in the lower Hunter how they were faring. Ask Heath how he was doing with the loss of mares to his stallions. It was possible to delay the decision for other breeders because they are not nearly as committed to the 1 September start to the breeding season. If the decision to extend the purple zone was delayed any further it would have meant financial ruin for these breeders.
There is no restriction on slaughter or use of horses vaccinated with the GMO vaccine except for human consumption in Australia. The French produce the vaccine and are quite happy to eat horses vaccinated with it. That's their choice. The vaccine is a live organism but it does not survive in the horse.
Rod Hoare
Board Member AHIC
posted by Horse Deals at
7:09 pm
2 Comments:
What a shame that horses vaccinated with the GMO vaccine can still be slaughtered. Would have been a great thing to make the racing industry take a serious look at itself!
The reason TB Breeders were committed to the 1st September is for extra revenue! And remember alot of these studs are owned by multi-millionaires like John Messara & Allan Jones, I don't think they will be facing financial ruin like many of the privatley owned QH, WB Studs etc who might charge $3000 per service (at the higher end) compared to $330,000 for Ridoute's Choice?? Fair go Rod!!??
Maureen NSW
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