EI Where Are We Now?
Compiled by Anna Sharpley.
Trying to discover where we are and what we have to do to move horses, conduct competition and generally go about our horse business at the moment is rather like herding cats. The unprecedented 2007 EI outbreak has really knocked the Australian equestrian industry for six, not just in a physical sense, but EI has also brought our national lack of accountability crashing down on our heads. We are reluctant for government to know how many horses, dogs, cats etc we have, except when we want compensation for actually having them. The Racing industry cannot get away with such unaccountability, and has, as a consequence received more assistance, much to the chagrin of the so called “pleasure industry”. Mind you, I am told there are a few very slow and very lightly raced horses in training at the moment. It is to be hoped many of the newly learned lessons regarding animal husbandry will be remembered, but sadly (and an argument for permanent, selective vaccination), we all become less diligent with time. We will and so will AQIS.
You would think that the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases (CCEAD) would have provided us with a national strategy and indeed colour scheme to fight EI. Seemingly all colours of the rainbow have been used to try and identify the status of EI infection. Why South East Queensland has to have a different colour code from NSW and all the states seem to have made up their own rules is mystifying and depressing. However, the country does appear to be coming out of the worst that EI, or more to the point, its “containment and eradication” has thrown at us.
As of the 16th January we made an effort to look up the current movement requirements and restriction and made several calls to the various DPI Media spokespeople, who almost without exception did not return our calls. Hot off the press this morning came the statement from Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer, Hugh Miller. “Strong evidence shows the disease is close to eradication in NSW and Queensland, with no new cases reported since the 21st December, the epidemic could be over by mid March. The battle against the EI epidemic will enter a crucial stage of recovery when new arrangements, currently under consideration take effect to ease horse movement restrictions. The new measures are an important step in assisting horse industries to make a swift recovery and we expect the new arrangements will have a massive impact on many horse owners”.
At the time of writing, movement of horses from NSW and Queensland into Victoria is still banned without a permit supplied by the DPI. However in Victoria, “in consultation with Racing Victoria, we have determined biosecurity measures at race meetings can now also be eased and recreational horse groups can now resume events confident that the disease has been kept out of Victoria. But we need to remember a small element of risk remains until the disease is completely and demonstrably gone from the affected areas of NSW and Queensland”. Even on that cautionary note, it is good news for Victoria horse owners and show organisers. However, it is doubtful that any of the 16 (of 27) VASA affiliated shows conducted from Christmas until the end of March which have decided not to have horse events, will change their minds. Perhaps some of the 11 still undecided may now resume horse activity.
There has been much made of the horse events at Sydney Royal. We spoke to Francesa Christie, who plans to take eight horses if she can. Francesca tells us that Sydney has committed to vaccinating horses in order to get them to the show. The paperwork from them requesting vaccination has to be back in Sydney by 21st January. As yet Francesca has not received the paperwork. Getting to Sydney, which is in the Purple Zone may not be the problem, getting back to Victoria sounds a little more difficult. Remember a vaccinated horse in the Purple zone is at the bottom of the pecking order, due to the difficulty in determining whether or not the horse is an EI carrier or not, based on the fact that it may have EI, but not show any symptoms, which is the point of vaccination. However, it can spread EI amongst a naive population. But the horses which have had and recovered from EI, now known as “resolved” horses cannot catch and therefore cannot spread EI. Once you have made it to Sydney and whilst there (and at this stage at least, not before) you must apply for an export permit to get your horse back into Victoria. At this stage, the Green Zone in NSW is close to becoming a White Zone, which allows free movement from NSW into Victoria. But the Purple Zone will remain a logistical complication for some time to come. That of course is not to say that movement is not possible, it is, but you have to comply with certain DPI regulations-:
• DPI Victoria must be contacted at least seven days prior to the movement from property in NSW, to ensure all Victorian requirements are met.
• An application must be made to import horses to Victoria, with evidence of the requites testing supplied.
• An importation permit is required from DPI Victoria prior to movement of horse/horses to Victoria.
A “resolved horse” wishing to enter Victoria must -:
• Test positive by the cELISA blood test within 60 days of movement.
• Be examined by a veterinarian.
• Have negative PCR swabs within 72 hours prior to embarkation.
The route you take where you stop etc all has to be organised with the Victorian DIP. Extensive contamination must take place, prior to leaving, with appropriate documentation, and again at an approved post-arrival wash down facility in Victoria, with more documentation. After that you are free to move within Victoria.
As of the 15th January, if you come from Queensland or NSW and you have been allowed into Victoria, you are now permitted to travel to Western Australia, once you have meet all the existing requirements for horses from South Australia and Victoria. Before the 15th, if you came from NSW or Queensland, “the computer said no”. This all sounds quite a to do, but if you were buying a horse and it was a one off, it is not so tedious. However you would not be wanting to whip across the border every weekend.
Back to our Sydney Royal attendees. The situation is similar for a vaccinated horse, but there are differences.
• The horse has to be vaccinated with ProteqFlu, with the second dose applied at least two weeks previously.
• Must be microchipped and listed on the vaccination register.
• A minimum of seven days must be spent at an Approved Quarantine premises in the Purple Zone, or 14 days on a private property under approved conditions, during which time the whole property is quarantined.
Again, buying a horse is worth the effort, going to Sydney may not be. And of course the situation can change and even though, “every day that goes by things get better”, they can get worse too. In a lock down situation, vaccinated horses will be the last to be released. No doubt a lot will change as the months go by.
Whilst still in NSW, on the 14th January is was stated that-:
• All horse movements require a Traveling Horse Statement (THS)
• All events must be registered with the NSW DPI.
From the 4th February, only horses that are immune to EI infection (resolved or vaccinated) will be able to move freely in the Purple Zone. In addition you will have to carry a Certificate of Immunity or a valid Vaccination Certificate. Therefore we presume that horses which have neither had EI nor been vaccinated can no longer move (freely).
In Queensland, “no new cases have been reported since Christmas and there are now fewer than 300 infected properties in the Red Zone and that number is dropping each day”. Events are expected to commence in South East Queensland, with “30 applications for events in the period January to April”.
Queensland has a Red Zone, (infected) an Amber ‘buffer’ Zone and a Green EI free Zone. On the 11th January movement restrictions were eased in the Red Zone. Basically you can go for a ride, or take you horse for a walk, in daylight hours, as long as horse does not have EI! Permits are required to move horses by vehicle in the Red Zone. In the Amber Zone a way bill is requited to move around, but you cannot move out of the Amber Zone without a permit. A way bill is required to move around the Green Zone. To get from Queensland to NSW you need documentation regarding your horses’ health status (things are easier if it has had EI) from Queensland and a permit from the NSW DPI to come into NSW, which is said to take two weeks to issue. Again it can be done. The entire system is complicated by having to deal with each State DPI. Have they not heard of Federation?
On the 1st February South Australia “will make changes to facilitate recovery of South Australia’s horse industry”. Hallelujah.
The changes involve-:
• Moving from a permit system for events to a registration system.
• Freeing up horse movements between the Green Zones of NSW and Queensland into South Australia.
Documentation and biosecurity will of course still be required, but it is certainly a move in the right direction.
By the time you read this, much might have changed. Let’s hope for the better. We are certainly moving in the right direction with travel certainly now possible around the country. Although I have been critical of a certain alarmist tendency that has prevailed throughout this epidemic, now is not the time to slacken off our newly found diligence. It is just possible that our approach to animal husbandry may have benefited from this EI epidemic. We have had more of a rein back than a half halt; perhaps it is what we needed.
Trying to discover where we are and what we have to do to move horses, conduct competition and generally go about our horse business at the moment is rather like herding cats. The unprecedented 2007 EI outbreak has really knocked the Australian equestrian industry for six, not just in a physical sense, but EI has also brought our national lack of accountability crashing down on our heads. We are reluctant for government to know how many horses, dogs, cats etc we have, except when we want compensation for actually having them. The Racing industry cannot get away with such unaccountability, and has, as a consequence received more assistance, much to the chagrin of the so called “pleasure industry”. Mind you, I am told there are a few very slow and very lightly raced horses in training at the moment. It is to be hoped many of the newly learned lessons regarding animal husbandry will be remembered, but sadly (and an argument for permanent, selective vaccination), we all become less diligent with time. We will and so will AQIS.
You would think that the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases (CCEAD) would have provided us with a national strategy and indeed colour scheme to fight EI. Seemingly all colours of the rainbow have been used to try and identify the status of EI infection. Why South East Queensland has to have a different colour code from NSW and all the states seem to have made up their own rules is mystifying and depressing. However, the country does appear to be coming out of the worst that EI, or more to the point, its “containment and eradication” has thrown at us.
As of the 16th January we made an effort to look up the current movement requirements and restriction and made several calls to the various DPI Media spokespeople, who almost without exception did not return our calls. Hot off the press this morning came the statement from Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer, Hugh Miller. “Strong evidence shows the disease is close to eradication in NSW and Queensland, with no new cases reported since the 21st December, the epidemic could be over by mid March. The battle against the EI epidemic will enter a crucial stage of recovery when new arrangements, currently under consideration take effect to ease horse movement restrictions. The new measures are an important step in assisting horse industries to make a swift recovery and we expect the new arrangements will have a massive impact on many horse owners”.
At the time of writing, movement of horses from NSW and Queensland into Victoria is still banned without a permit supplied by the DPI. However in Victoria, “in consultation with Racing Victoria, we have determined biosecurity measures at race meetings can now also be eased and recreational horse groups can now resume events confident that the disease has been kept out of Victoria. But we need to remember a small element of risk remains until the disease is completely and demonstrably gone from the affected areas of NSW and Queensland”. Even on that cautionary note, it is good news for Victoria horse owners and show organisers. However, it is doubtful that any of the 16 (of 27) VASA affiliated shows conducted from Christmas until the end of March which have decided not to have horse events, will change their minds. Perhaps some of the 11 still undecided may now resume horse activity.
There has been much made of the horse events at Sydney Royal. We spoke to Francesa Christie, who plans to take eight horses if she can. Francesca tells us that Sydney has committed to vaccinating horses in order to get them to the show. The paperwork from them requesting vaccination has to be back in Sydney by 21st January. As yet Francesca has not received the paperwork. Getting to Sydney, which is in the Purple Zone may not be the problem, getting back to Victoria sounds a little more difficult. Remember a vaccinated horse in the Purple zone is at the bottom of the pecking order, due to the difficulty in determining whether or not the horse is an EI carrier or not, based on the fact that it may have EI, but not show any symptoms, which is the point of vaccination. However, it can spread EI amongst a naive population. But the horses which have had and recovered from EI, now known as “resolved” horses cannot catch and therefore cannot spread EI. Once you have made it to Sydney and whilst there (and at this stage at least, not before) you must apply for an export permit to get your horse back into Victoria. At this stage, the Green Zone in NSW is close to becoming a White Zone, which allows free movement from NSW into Victoria. But the Purple Zone will remain a logistical complication for some time to come. That of course is not to say that movement is not possible, it is, but you have to comply with certain DPI regulations-:
• DPI Victoria must be contacted at least seven days prior to the movement from property in NSW, to ensure all Victorian requirements are met.
• An application must be made to import horses to Victoria, with evidence of the requites testing supplied.
• An importation permit is required from DPI Victoria prior to movement of horse/horses to Victoria.
A “resolved horse” wishing to enter Victoria must -:
• Test positive by the cELISA blood test within 60 days of movement.
• Be examined by a veterinarian.
• Have negative PCR swabs within 72 hours prior to embarkation.
The route you take where you stop etc all has to be organised with the Victorian DIP. Extensive contamination must take place, prior to leaving, with appropriate documentation, and again at an approved post-arrival wash down facility in Victoria, with more documentation. After that you are free to move within Victoria.
As of the 15th January, if you come from Queensland or NSW and you have been allowed into Victoria, you are now permitted to travel to Western Australia, once you have meet all the existing requirements for horses from South Australia and Victoria. Before the 15th, if you came from NSW or Queensland, “the computer said no”. This all sounds quite a to do, but if you were buying a horse and it was a one off, it is not so tedious. However you would not be wanting to whip across the border every weekend.
Back to our Sydney Royal attendees. The situation is similar for a vaccinated horse, but there are differences.
• The horse has to be vaccinated with ProteqFlu, with the second dose applied at least two weeks previously.
• Must be microchipped and listed on the vaccination register.
• A minimum of seven days must be spent at an Approved Quarantine premises in the Purple Zone, or 14 days on a private property under approved conditions, during which time the whole property is quarantined.
Again, buying a horse is worth the effort, going to Sydney may not be. And of course the situation can change and even though, “every day that goes by things get better”, they can get worse too. In a lock down situation, vaccinated horses will be the last to be released. No doubt a lot will change as the months go by.
Whilst still in NSW, on the 14th January is was stated that-:
• All horse movements require a Traveling Horse Statement (THS)
• All events must be registered with the NSW DPI.
From the 4th February, only horses that are immune to EI infection (resolved or vaccinated) will be able to move freely in the Purple Zone. In addition you will have to carry a Certificate of Immunity or a valid Vaccination Certificate. Therefore we presume that horses which have neither had EI nor been vaccinated can no longer move (freely).
In Queensland, “no new cases have been reported since Christmas and there are now fewer than 300 infected properties in the Red Zone and that number is dropping each day”. Events are expected to commence in South East Queensland, with “30 applications for events in the period January to April”.
Queensland has a Red Zone, (infected) an Amber ‘buffer’ Zone and a Green EI free Zone. On the 11th January movement restrictions were eased in the Red Zone. Basically you can go for a ride, or take you horse for a walk, in daylight hours, as long as horse does not have EI! Permits are required to move horses by vehicle in the Red Zone. In the Amber Zone a way bill is requited to move around, but you cannot move out of the Amber Zone without a permit. A way bill is required to move around the Green Zone. To get from Queensland to NSW you need documentation regarding your horses’ health status (things are easier if it has had EI) from Queensland and a permit from the NSW DPI to come into NSW, which is said to take two weeks to issue. Again it can be done. The entire system is complicated by having to deal with each State DPI. Have they not heard of Federation?
On the 1st February South Australia “will make changes to facilitate recovery of South Australia’s horse industry”. Hallelujah.
The changes involve-:
• Moving from a permit system for events to a registration system.
• Freeing up horse movements between the Green Zones of NSW and Queensland into South Australia.
Documentation and biosecurity will of course still be required, but it is certainly a move in the right direction.
By the time you read this, much might have changed. Let’s hope for the better. We are certainly moving in the right direction with travel certainly now possible around the country. Although I have been critical of a certain alarmist tendency that has prevailed throughout this epidemic, now is not the time to slacken off our newly found diligence. It is just possible that our approach to animal husbandry may have benefited from this EI epidemic. We have had more of a rein back than a half halt; perhaps it is what we needed.
posted by Horse Deals at
3:23 pm
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