National Disaster

Why should we pay for a NATIONAL DISASTER? wasn't it declared as such? Do all of those poor bug*ers that are suffering from the floods in Queensland have to repay the cost of the government "helping" them out in the National Disaster? I have no problem paying a SMALL levy to have continued support from the government (although i thought taxes etc covered these things too) should the government let in another "national disaster" but to be
continually punished over EI is unfair.
Repay for the help in fighting EI ? ok, it may be over ( yeah right) soon but due to bumbling in the first place it got out and went wild and we weren't allowed to have access to vaccine even if we paid for it and "they want to punish us again?
unfair
Sharon

Schools supporting police horses

A hundred and fifty Nottinghamshire schools have joined a scheme to support the county's police horses.
Pupils "adopt" one of the 11 animals, and in return get visits from the horses and community officers.
The county's force is one of only 16 in England and Wales that still has a mounted division.

Insp Chris Lyons said the schools scheme was an effective way for officers to get the crime fighting message across.
He said: "This is a way of actually getting the police back into schools and actually getting the children at a very early age involved in talking to police officers and getting to know what they do."

The police horses are sent all over the country to work at events such as football matches and the Lord Mayor of London's parade.

Ponies die in stable arson attack

Two miniature ponies have died in a "cruel and malicious" arson attack on stables in Kent, police have said.

Detectives were called to the stables in Binney Road, Allhallows, Medway, on Friday afternoon, after firefighters put out the blaze.
Det Con Steve Goldsmith said: "It is believed the fire was started deliberately and officers are currently examining the scene for evidence."
Crime scene investigators have gathered forensic evidence at the site, he said.

EI Levy Bill

The government said sorry to its native australians why are they finding it so hard to say sorry to its equine inhabitants that have suffered endlessly since EI hit our shores and to rub salt into the wound they wish to charge a levy bill, I have had no funding am down on sales and am out of pocket for just over $700 for vaccinations and microchipping. I have got out of it cheap compared to people that have lost horses and had huge medical bills, speaking of which why is no one addressing the horses that are dropping dead in the paddocks three to four months after the disease has hit them I have heard of several cases and there seems to be no one addressing this issue.

Veronica Sorley

Mini Star Stud

Re "Horse Industry Faces Flu Levy"

Is anyone else boiling mad at the idea that horse owners be required to pay a "levy" to subsidise the cost of the EI outbreak?

Look in the For Sale ads - many breeders and owners are getting out of the industry already. After years of crippling drought, horse owners in NSW and Queensland have had to face added financial and personal burdens due to the EI outbreak, which the Callinan Enquiry has attributed to unsatisfactory practices at the GOVERNMENT-RUN Quarantine facility in Eastern Creek.

At the start of the outbreak, many people asked for access to vaccine. This was denied. What followed was a Laurel and Hardy farce where owners were slated with blame, given inaccurate information, threatened with fines then expected to accept the backflip from "Vaccination Bad" to "Vaccination is the Answer". The phrase "had a gutful" sprang to mind at this point.

But no - then came the Endless Paperwork phase. never yet has a bit of paper had any effect on a virus, unless you perhaps wiped it on the paper then set fire to it (tempting....).

Many of us had paid all our Association memberships, insurances, renewal fees etc for horse competition (hundreds or even thousands of dollars) - there are no rebates for this outlay, but we missed out on virtually the whole competition year - some Associations are trying to organise National shows, to provide for members, but also to bring in revenue. Numbers will inevitably be down, we are still trying to bring our horses back into work and get back to "normal" (whatever that was).

We have dealt with vet bills, morbidity and mortality (mortality figures are much higher than shown, as horses who died of colic, for example, or laminitis or pneumonia, as a result of EI, have not been included as EI fatalities). We have dealt with the costs, in materials and time, of maintaining biosecurity. We have spent hours on the phone and the computer meeting DPI requirements and filling in various forms. We have duly had our horses caught, swabbed, tested - sometimes tested again when the paperwork went missing - microchipped, documented, and ultimately received the hairy eyeball from the general public anyway if we dared to drive past with a horsefloat.

There is a perception that horse owners are silvertail racing barons and spoilt little Veronicas with a choice of hacks and country properties, that owning a horse is a rich man's game - maybe it is getting to the stage where it is. But I know many people on ordinary - to very ordinary - incomes, who make sacrifices to own horses and participate in a hobby they love. Many of our so-called "Australian values" are built around the idea of independent, courageous horsemen and women, and the mysitque of the bush.

In that tradition, many of us dutifully slogged through the EI crisis, doing all that was required of us, shouldering the financial burdens, and putting the welfare of our horses first - as always.

The "compensation packages" touted by the government to assist horse owners were a joke - very few qualified for any financial assistance, once again the racing industry with its money and power received the lion's share. Any sort of class action against the government for allowing EI to get through quarantine is a pipe dream - there is, and always has been, legislation that indemnifies our government against such action.

I think the Government levying a fee to from horseowners to pay for its own mistakes is adding insult to injury. It will be the last nail in the coffin for many low-income horse owners, who just cannot financially cope with one more burden. Sorry to mix the metaphors, but I think the government, in insulting horse owners one more time, may be doing its best to kill off a goose that has been laying golden eggs.

KM, Central Coast NSW

RSPCA investigates horse deaths at Narrawong

THE RSPCA is investigating allegations of animal cruelty on a property near Portland in Victoria's southwest.

The complaints follow the deaths of four out of 13 horses on the Narrawong property that were put down after they were found lying down and unable to stand.
The Department of Primary Industries is investigating whether the horses had a disease, but has ruled out horse flu.
"A horse was euthanased by a private practitioner on 19 February 2008, and taken to DPI's diagnostic facility at Attwood for post mortem," DPI senior veterinary officer Mike Jeffers said.
"At this stage we are awaiting final results of the post mortem."
He said further investigations into the deaths could follow, pending the outcome of the autopsy.
Concerned neighbours and owners who had leased horses to the property's owner raised the alarm, believing the horses were not being fed.
Neighbour Liz Novotny told the Herald Sun there was no feed in the paddock for the horses, which were very skinny.
"I'm pretty upset about it and worried about what's going to happen to the horses," she said.
"The property is full of horses but there's no grass in the paddock for them."
RSPCA senior inspector Lisa Weston said the RSPCA was working with the DPI on their investigation.
"We are trying to establish what's happened. We want to make sure the remaining horses are OK," she said.
"It's sad for everyone involved and we hope we can find out what's happened."
Ms Weston said the RSPCA had worked with the owner in the past.
"We have received information about that property, about horses on that property, but no cruelty case has been established out there before," she said.
She said it was too early to say whether the owner would face any charges.
People found guilty of extreme animal cruelty can be banned from having pets for up to 10 years.
Those guilty of aggravated acts of cruelty against animals such as pets and farm animals face heavy fines and possible jail terms.
The property owner could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Horse flu finished at cost to owners

The Federal Government is confident horse flu has been eradicated, but are asking owners to pay for the cost of the outbreak.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke is introducing legislation to impose a levy on every horse when it's registered with a breed society or performance organisation, however the Equestrian Federation of Australia disagrees with the levy as the outbreak wasn't the fault of the owners.
The levy proposal could mean many horse owners won't register their horses unless they are forced too.
Libby Price spoke to EFA Chief executive, Franz Venhaus, who says the levy will cost around 100 dollars.
"At the present we are actually applying for a recategorisation of the disease to make sure the industry has to pay less of any outbreak and we are really banking on that the fault lies with the Commonwealth and the agencies and that they should pick up the tab," he says.

'McLeod's Daughters' attracts jillaroos to the bush

Australia's biggest cattle company says women are helping to overcome the skills shortage in the bush, with more females coming forward to work as jillaroos.
The Australian Agriculture Company has 24 cattle stations and two feedlots which run more than 500,000 cattle across Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Spokesman David Connelly says they have inducted more staff in Longreach this week and women are becoming an increasingly important part of what was traditionally a male domain.
"We've got all female mustering camps now and all female crews on our feedlots," he said.
"They're extremely efficient, they're very good on machinery, they care for the animals exceptionally well and they do a great job.
"I think they're just more empowered and want to join the excitement. They can see a succession plan, they can actually move on up through the business and get into an area of management."
Mr Connelly says the company has found young women care for animals and machinery exceptionally well.
"I've asked these young people and some of these young ladies tell me that McLeod's Daughters did it for them, surprisingly enough," he said.
"...They want to get out and do some of the exciting things that some of the young men have done and are doing and there's no reason they can't."

EI rules hitch for Karasi

LEGENDARY jumper Karasi and Grand National Steeplechase winner Clearview Bay have been confirmed as Australia's horse in the Nakayama Grand Jump in Japan.But Karasi's bid for a fourth successive triumph faces some hurdles before he gets to the Grand Jump on April 19.

Racing Victoria Ltd veterinarian Dr Paul O'Callaghan said quarantine protocols still needed to be resolved.
O'Callaghan said the key issue was an Australian requirement that any horses returning from Japan had to have been in an area that had been equine influenza-free for two months.
He said the concern was identifying such a quarantine area.
Another issue is that of planes to Japan stopping over in Hong Kong.
"Part of our return conditions is that the premises where they do quarantine before they come back has to be EI-free for two months," O'Callaghan said.
"At the moment, we're having trouble finding out where that will be.
"But I'm confident we can get something sorted out in the next couple of weeks."
Karasi and Clearview Bay are expected to leave for Japan in mid-March, with the traditional lead-up to the Grand Jump, the Pegasus Jump, to be run on March 29.

Japan was source of horse flu, says vet

JAPAN has been highlighted as the source of the equine influenza virus, which caused losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars to the racing industry, wiping out the spring racing carnival last year.

The finger had been pointed at horses from Ireland as the initial source of the disease entering Australia via the Eastern Creek animal quarantine centre.
In public testimony to the inquiry last week, Dr James Watson, the veterinary investigation leader at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, confirmed Japan as the likely source of the virus entering Australia.
"Putting all those facts together … it points to some form of common exposure of the horses, which favours the origin somewhere in Japan or transit therefrom," Dr Watson told the inquiry.
Dr Watson was speaking ahead of a report that is expected to be tabled at the inquiry later today by Dr Richard Newton from Britain's Animal Health Trust. Dr Newton is the world's leading expert on equine influenza. His report is also expected to point to Japan as the source of the influenza.
The outbreak of the disease in NSW and Queensland caused havoc for the horse racing and breeding industry last year, with all races cancelled for several months as movement of horses around the state came to a halt. Races in Sydney did not resume until just before Christmas.
The first horse to show symptoms of the disease in Australia was a stallion at Coolmore Stud, Encosta de Lago, on August 17.
Dr Watson informed the inquiry that the Coolmore Stud horse was infected after arriving in Australia, while the stallion Snitzel, shuttled over from Japan, had exhibited symptoms of equine influenza before August 8. Another horse from Japan, Jungle Pocket, was also probably infected before arriving in Australia.
Two other infected horses, Zenno Rob Roy and Black Hawk, were in the same pre-export quarantine in Hokkaido, northern Japan, before they were flown to Australia last August.
The inquiry has heard also of breaches of protocol at Eastern Creek and in quarantine procedures at Sydney airport.
Today is the last day of public hearings of the inquiry, which is being chaired by Ian Callinan.

Racing NSW lays down law on vaccines

THOROUGHBREDS that have not received all three equine influenza vaccination shots will be barred from racing in NSW as the State Government prepares to lift the ban on horse movement.

The board of Racing NSW has introduced a rule which will prevent horses not fully inoculated against EI, including interstate arrivals for Sydney's autumn carnival, from racing. NSW is the first state to introduce the rule.
"All mine have been done," leading trainer David Hayes said yesterday. "I've got nothing to worry about."
Hayes, who quinellaed Saturday's $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes for the third consecutive year, confirmed the winner, Reann, and runner-up All American would each have one lead-up run in Sydney before contesting the $3.5m Golden Slipper at Rosehill on April 19.
"I'm looking to have a large team in Sydney and these two-year-olds haven't been wound up," Hayes said. "I'll be bring handicappers like The Fuzz and Laser Sharp up for the staying races, like the Sydney Cup."
Hayes has fallen idol Miss Finland running in Saturday's Futurity Stakes at Caulfield and admitted if she flopped again, the mare would be heading to stud.
"But I'm not even thinking about that," he said. "I think we will see the best of her on Saturday over the mile. Her first-up run in the Lightning was very good and I probably shouldn't have run her in the Australia Stakes."
Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy warned that trainers, not stewards, were responsible for administering the third EI shot.
The Government has set March 14 as the day the horse movement ban will be lifted, but the mail is that will be brought forward to March 1.