NSW 'is clear of horse flu'

NSW has been declared free of equine influenza six months after the virus brought the state's breeding and racing industry to its knees.

Queensland, the only other state affected by the outbreak, has no infected properties on record, but quarantine rules remain in place restricting the movement of horses.
But it is understood that the Queensland Agricultural Show Society is pushing to have the state declared EI-free within weeks, possibly on the eve of the showcase Toowoomba Show.
The end of the crisis for NSW was in sight two weeks ago when all restrictions bar movement and testing of horses from within certain areas were lifted.
Yesterday, the state Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, made it official. "Horse flu has now been eradicated from NSW and this fantastic news means that from today, all permit and testing requirements for moving horses within the state have been lifted," he said.
"Tens of thousands of tests have been carried out and today we cannot find a single EI-infected animal."
The outbreak began on August 25 last year, a week from the start of the multi-million-dollar thoroughbred breeding season. Sydney racing was stopped for more than two months, forcing the Randwick Spring Carnival to be abandoned.
Former judge Ian Callinan chaired an inquiry into the EI outbreak, and is to release his findings in late April.