Victoria to allow entry of EI horses

TODAY, for the first time since the outbreak of equine influenza on August 25, horses can be moved into Victoria from NSW and Queensland, but stringent conditions will apply.

This follows the revised protocol on importation agreed to on November 27 by the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases to ensure the safe movement of horses into Victoria, which has so far remained free of EI.

Although the new protocols are effective only until the end of December, it is believed that up to 60 thoroughbreds, including racehorses, yearlings and breeding stock, are ready to be moved from approved properties in NSW near the Victorian border.

The first horses to be moved will be those stranded in NSW at the time of the EI outbreak. After that, horses will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

But some Victorian racing and breeding figures are concerned the revised protocols will not guarantee that the state remains free of EI.

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