Horse flu fight must go on

THE return of racing to Randwick yesterday was cause for celebration. Three months after the sport of kings was king-hit by the outbreak of equine influenza, the race meeting lifted the spirits of people in a NSW racing industry devastated by the epidemic, and of the racegoing public.
However, the return of racing to Randwick does not mean the EI crisis is over. Far from it. There are 500,000 horses in NSW and, while the Department of Primary Industries has done well to contain the number of infected horses to 41,000, eradication of the disease is still a long way off.
The National Management Group overseeing the fight to control the disease has been encouraged by reports of a reduction in the number of new infected premises and by the continuing roll-out of the vaccination program. But while the management group is confident the battle is being won, it cautions that only strict compliance with biosecurity measures will prevent fresh outbreaks of the disease.
In other words, this is no time for complacency. For many in an industry dependent on movement between racecourses, spelling paddocks, sales and studs, the cure - movement restrictions - has been worse than the disease. Yet zones restricting the movement of horses will remain in force for at least two months. At studs, fewer mares are in foal and the effects of the interruption to the breeding cycle will be felt for years.
Uncertainty about the future can only compound the stress already suffered by people in the racing industry and across the wider equestrian community. So it is to be hoped hard lessons have been learnt in the past three months. To restore confidence in quarantine procedures, security must be stricter and seen to be so, as must biosecurity at racecourses, airports and other points of entry.
Unless such precautions are implemented and there is a continuing vaccination program in all states and territories, as Racing NSW has requested, equine influenza might never go away.