$3000 Fines for Horses in Hiding
Liz Buchanan, Friday, 9 November 2007
Horse owners who failed to register their steeds could face fines of up to $3000, the Queensland Performance & Pleasure Horse Industry group warned today.
Under the Stock Act of 1915, horse owners throughout Queensland - regardless of their current Equine Influenza zoning - were legally required to register how many horses they had, and where they were housed, on the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries website.
Failure to register would also restrict future movement permits as well as hamper applications for vaccination against Equine Influenza.
QPPHI chair Peter Toft said registration details were needed so that vaccination teams knew where the horses where, and which ones needed priority access to the modified, live canary pox vaccine to help stop the spread of EI.
Mr Toft said horse owners were also legally required to notify the DPI&F of new EI cases, to not only track the virus' movements but determine a property's EI status for future movement permits.
The call for registration comes as the QPPHI this week started rolling out the vaccines it secured to inoculate 26,000 performance and pleasure horses.
Mr Toft said while some of the vaccines would be used for welfare purposes, a large proportion of the vaccines would be used tactically, in densely populated equine areas to increase and reinforce the buffer zone and bring an end to EI.
Registration of horses statewide would also assist in immediate disease containment, should EI - or any other disease - jump the buffer zone.
"If we want to contain and eradicate EI we must know where the horses are in the red and green zones and beyond," Mr Toft said. "This will help us determine where the vaccines would be used most effectively to contain the virus and by doing that, get the industry back to work."
Mr Toft said Queensland horse owners should be acknowledged for their strict biosecurity measures, which had helped contain EI to the red zone for the past 10 weeks.
"But now is not the time to let our guard down," he said. "If we keep it in the red zone, horse movement restrictions will ease by Christmas and we will be on the path to recovery.
"If EI gets into the green zone however, the standstill will continue."
Horse owners can register their mounts online, over the telephone or in person at their local DPI&F office. For online registrations visit: www.dpi.qld.gov.au/equine-influenza or call 13 25 23.
Horse owners who failed to register their steeds could face fines of up to $3000, the Queensland Performance & Pleasure Horse Industry group warned today.
Under the Stock Act of 1915, horse owners throughout Queensland - regardless of their current Equine Influenza zoning - were legally required to register how many horses they had, and where they were housed, on the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries website.
Failure to register would also restrict future movement permits as well as hamper applications for vaccination against Equine Influenza.
QPPHI chair Peter Toft said registration details were needed so that vaccination teams knew where the horses where, and which ones needed priority access to the modified, live canary pox vaccine to help stop the spread of EI.
Mr Toft said horse owners were also legally required to notify the DPI&F of new EI cases, to not only track the virus' movements but determine a property's EI status for future movement permits.
The call for registration comes as the QPPHI this week started rolling out the vaccines it secured to inoculate 26,000 performance and pleasure horses.
Mr Toft said while some of the vaccines would be used for welfare purposes, a large proportion of the vaccines would be used tactically, in densely populated equine areas to increase and reinforce the buffer zone and bring an end to EI.
Registration of horses statewide would also assist in immediate disease containment, should EI - or any other disease - jump the buffer zone.
"If we want to contain and eradicate EI we must know where the horses are in the red and green zones and beyond," Mr Toft said. "This will help us determine where the vaccines would be used most effectively to contain the virus and by doing that, get the industry back to work."
Mr Toft said Queensland horse owners should be acknowledged for their strict biosecurity measures, which had helped contain EI to the red zone for the past 10 weeks.
"But now is not the time to let our guard down," he said. "If we keep it in the red zone, horse movement restrictions will ease by Christmas and we will be on the path to recovery.
"If EI gets into the green zone however, the standstill will continue."
Horse owners can register their mounts online, over the telephone or in person at their local DPI&F office. For online registrations visit: www.dpi.qld.gov.au/equine-influenza or call 13 25 23.
posted by Horse Deals at
7:12 am
2 Comments:
Concerned
When the QPPHI was formed I for one was relieved to think at long last we the forgoten performance horse people here in Qld finally had some one representing our interests and voicing our concerns to government. The QPPHI have been succesful in gaing a ear to government and to get much needed vaccinations for some in the performance horse industry.
I dont know about anyone else but I starting to get concerned with the media releases from the QPPHI continually warning/threatning us with not reporting, not registring our property etc etc we allready have the Qld DPI and EFAQ to do this I thought that the QPPHI where working on geting the performance horse industry up and running again, working on the protacols for this to happen I may have missed a media release but I haven;t seen anything yet to explain to us how this is progressing , I dont even know if this organisation has even held a meeting with the people that they claim to represent to explain where things are at or to listen to our thoughts.
There is no doubt that we need one voice to represent the perfomance horse industry. If they are going to represent us should they at least listen to the people that they say they are represnting or have I got it all wrong?
I agree, what is the QPPHI doing? I have responded to their requests for information including the fact that I have horses stuck on a number of other properties including 1 stuck in NSW when I am in QLD since the lockdown, I've heard nothing since then. I am still dealing with the government officials and DPI by myself and thankfully because I have some contacts and ability to lobby I am doing OK in some areas but still many issues yet to resolve including getting my horses home and getting the few of them left free of EI vaccinated. By all means gather information QPPHI but do tell us what you are doing a little more frequently than you are currently.
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