The Flu From Eastern Creek

(apologies to Banjo Paterson…)

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around

That the colt from Old Regret had got away

“Has he had his swab and microchip? Can his test results be found?”

Was what the DPI man had to say.

There were threats of fines of vast amounts because he’d jumped the fence

And no Travelling Horse Statement had been done

“We didn’t let him out,” replied his owner in defence

But it’s a crime to have a loose horse on the run.

“This is a war of paperwork,” said the Old Man with a sigh

He’d made his pile and now it needed stamping

“Just let me lodge this other form,” he said with bleary eye,

The new rules only seemed insane and cramping.

There was Clancy at the surgery, he was a clever vet

He’d done his time on racehorse studs with breeding

“I’ve never seen a thing like this,” he said with shaking head

“Fair treatment and some sense is what we’re needing.”

But on internet and TV all we heard was racehorse trainers

As they carved from all the subsidies the best

While the recreation riders were regarded as complainers

The government had pissed off all the rest

And what of Equine Influenza? Well, it’s had its time to spread

And the colt contracted it, then he got better

And they blamed the vet, the Old Man, and a farrier named Ted

When it was actually the neighbour’s wife’s Red Setter

Now the flu has gone, we all can say we did our best to stop it

With chemicals and threats and fines and such

But why do we still have to wait in quarantine and cop it

While those racehorse people aren’t affected much?

Some believe it’s true we’ve run the race and now the flu has gone

That things are back to normal in Australia

We may emerge with stock intact and get on with our lives

But the handling of the outbreak was a failure

Down by Eastern Creek they wring their hands, examining the breaches

And claim the problems that were there are mended

But until the land is free of flu from mountains to the beaches

I don’t believe this saga will have ended.

KM

(Kerry Morgan,

Central Coast NSW)