Eastern Creek Quarantine Station - Response

In response to RC's comment recently that he or she had been talking to a farrier who had been attending horses at Eastern Creek Quarantine Station (ECQS), I can confirm that there have been NO farriers at ECQS during the quarantine period for the consignment of horses which arrived on 22 February.

Farriers cannot enter ECQS without authorisation from the station manager and the importing agent, or without reporting to a 24-hour security guard. All personnel entering ECQS are supervised by quarantine officers, who ensure visitors sign in, shower and change into AQIS provided overalls and footwear or dedicated quarantine clothing that stays within the horse compound.

Neither the station manager nor the importing agent authorised any farriers to enter ECQS during the alleged period.

Supplied to Horse Deals from the

AQIS - Live Animal Imports & Post Entry Animal Quarantine Program

McGauran set to quit, Costello tipped to linger

FORMER agriculture minister Peter McGauran is expected to quit parliament within a week or two to take up a top position in Australia's multi-billion-dollar bloodstock industry.

But Peter Costello is expected to delay his departure for several months, denying Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson his preferred "Super Saturday" of synchronised by-elections.

Whispers that Mr Costello's departure might be imminent circulated yesterday when it became known he would address his local electorate council in Melbourne on Thursday. But while Mr Costello will give his analysis of the party's federal defeat at the meeting, he is not expected to announce his resignation.

However, his close friend Mr McGauran is believed to have decided not to delay, and is tipped to become chief executive of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, which represents racehorse breeders including some of the nation's most prestigious studs.

A keen racing fan and one-time racetrack steward, Mr McGauran liaised closely with the thoroughbred industry, including TBA president and Arrowfield Stud boss John Messara, during last year's equine flu crisis.

Mr Messara, whose stud stands star stallion Redoute's Choice, would not comment on the prospects of Mr McGauran taking the chief executive's role.

And Mr McGauran, 52, refused to confirm he was considering the job. "I have strong links with the horse industry but no position," he said.

But the long-time Nationals MP effectively flagged his departure in a largely unnoticed speech in federal parliament this month in which he somewhat unusually used a response to a government transport bill to thank his wife and parents and pay tribute to his local constituents.

"Nobody represents a large rural electorate, with the same intensity and demands of a geographically smaller metropolitan area, without the support of parents, family and extended family. I will be eternally grateful for the confidence and support vested in me by the people of Gippsland," he said.

The speech effectively confirmed he would not be returning to parliament when it resumes in May for the federal budget.

Mr McGauran, who spent about 10 years in the ministry, will leave parliament with a pension of $235,000 a year or a lump sum of $2.35 million and an annual pension of $117,000.

Mr Costello is believed to be staying on for now. There has been speculation that he may reverse his decision to quit, but sources say he will leave later in the year.

His office appeared to play down a resignation at this week's meeting, saying: "He will report on the recent election and the result in Higgins, where the swing to Labor was 1.7 per cent compared with a national swing of 5.44 per cent."

The staggered by-elections pose yet another problem for Dr Nelson, who made it clear his preference was for the polls to be held simultaneously.

Retaining Gippsland in conservative hands - the Liberals plan to stand a candidate too - will not be easy given the 6 per cent margin and the fact it includes tracts of the staunchly blue-collar Latrobe Valley. Higgins, which contains Toorak and Malvern, is strong Liberal territory although there has been an influx of younger voters.

Mr McGauran and Mr Costello kept the swing against them at last year's poll to 1.7 per cent, probably because of their personal following.

McGauran to quit Parliament, says Albanese

Federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese claims National Party MP Peter McGauran is set to leave Parliament and take up a job in the thoroughbred industry.

Mr Albanese says he has heard from industry sources about the imminent departure of Mr McGauran from Parliament.

There has been speculation about the possibility of several senior Coalition figures leaving politics after their defeat in the last election.

Mr Albanese says Mr McGauran, who currently holds the Victorian seat of Gippsland, has already lined up a job.

"He's been talking about a job which has been proposed in the thoroughbred industry - interestingly the same industry in which he presided over as minister," he said.

$6bn industry at risk amid race to prevent horse flu

A REPEAT of last year's equine influenza outbreak could permanently cripple Australia's $6 billion horse racing and breeding industry, but scientists and industry officials are at odds over how to prevent another epidemic.

Last year's devastating EI outbreak, which threatened the running of the Melbourne Cup and brought the horse racing and breeding industries to a standstill, is estimated to have cost the Australian economy up to $1 billion.

While both camps agree that a second outbreak could bring the industry to its knees, they disagree on whether the best way to avert catastrophe would be to continue a national vaccination program or to beef up quarantine restrictions to prevent EI from re-entering Australia.

Last year's outbreak, which resulted in 488 confirmed cases and 1646 suspected cases of horse flu on 100 properties, is thought to have been spread by racing stallions brought in from Japan.

John Messara, manager of Arrowfield Stud in the NSW Hunter Valley, one of the country's biggest breeding operations, told The Sunday Age continued vaccinations provided the best shield against the disease taking hold again.

"An ongoing vaccination program is essential if we are to protect ourselves properly against this disease. Another outbreak would be absolutely catastrophic … there would be hundreds of businesses go under if it happened again," Mr Messara said.

"I estimate that $1 billion was lost over EI and that's a loss few industries could take twice.

"The quarantine system is only as good as the people in it and I don't have faith that similar mistakes will never be made again. The vaccine provides a safety net."

Mr Messara's stance is supported by the racing authorities from every state and a number of experienced veterinarians.

As EI is considered an exotic disease, there were no licensed vaccines when the outbreak struck last August. The Federal Government was forced to give an emergency licence to medication flown in from abroad.

However, as this approval expires at the end of June, many in the horse racing industry are lobbying the government for an extension. It is expected state and federal officials will discuss the issue at a summit planned for May.

Leading the call for an end to vaccination is Melbourne University's Dr James Gilkerson, one of the country's leading experts in equine viruses.

"Australia is now free of the disease and we really need to concentrate on making sure it can't be allowed to enter the country again. I think talk of vaccinations clouds the issues", Dr Gilkerson said.

"We really need to make proper investment in quarantine facilities and the people who work there. The policies are in place to stop the disease; we now need to concentrate on making sure the policy implementation is absolutely correct."

He argues that vaccination could lead to the disease again being spread across Australia, as vaccinated horses can still contract EI, but their symptoms are often suppressed. "This raises the possibility that a horse could be carrying the disease without it being spotted and could be transported across the country and cause another outbreak," he said.

In Japan all race horses are vaccinated against EI, yet the country still suffered an outbreak last year.

Dr Barry Smyth, a veterinarian of 35 years and president of the Australian Horse Industry Council, says another consideration is that forced vaccinations could make horse ownership too costly for many.

"If horses used for recreation were forced to get injected, then a lot of people may think twice about keeping an animal. Injections could cost over $100 a time and may need to be given up to three times a year," Dr Smyth told The Sunday Age.

Quarantine and biosecurity review extended

The Rudd Labor Government has agreed to a two-month extension for the independent review of Australia’s quarantine and biosecurity systems, following a request by the review head Roger Beale AO.

Federal Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke announced the wide-ranging independent review in February and released terms of reference which include examining the legal, administrative and institutional frameworks that underpin our quarantine and biosecurity arrangements.

Mr Burke said he had spoken to Mr Beale about the review panel’s progress and was happy to allow extra time for the experts to complete their work.

Submissions to the review are now due by April 28 and the report will be submitted by September 31 .

“This is a very important process and I want to receive a thorough, detailed report from the panel,” Mr Burke said.

“I am pleased to hear that Roger Beale and his team have an ambitious program for the remainder of the review and I look forward to receiving their recommendations.

“I would again encourage any interested parties to be involved in the review and make a submission to help guide the long-term direction of our quarantine and biosecurity arrangements.”

Following public submissions, the review will hold targeted stakeholder meetings in state and territory capital cities.

SOURCE: Rural Press national news bureau, Canberra.

Horse credited with saving girl from harm

We've all heard of dogs saving lives, but a Caddo Parish teenager is crediting a horse with saving her.

Vivian's annual Louisiana Redbud Festival parade looked more like a "red blood free-for-all" after authorities say someone's pit bull attacked two horses on Saturday.

Chloe-Jeane Wendell says the pit bull, which is currently under quarantine at Caddo Animal Services, would have attacked her too had it not been for a third horse: Her horse, Sunny Boy.

Mark Wendell says he always knew how much his daughter loved her horse, but never would have guessed what the horse would wind up doing for his daughter.

The dog got into the parade route and was threatening Chloe-Jeane, she said, when Sunny Boy got between them and kicked the dog, making it back off.

The owner of the pit bull was given two citations for no vaccinations and dog running at large. The two horses both received dozens of stitches, but are expected to make full recoveries.
Click here to watch the interview

Trainee jillaroos outnumber jackeroo counterparts

For the second consecutive year young women are outnumbering men at one of Queensland's largest rural training institutions.

The Longreach campus of the Australian Agricultural College Corporation says it has more females training to be jillaroos this year than it has males training to become jackaroos.

Manager Peter Scott says the continuing trend is partly because women see the rural sector as an ideal career.

"A lot of the young fellows seem to prefer to get to work as quickly as possible, whereas the girls are more focused on gaining qualifications and developing a career," he said.

"There's plenty of work available, but I think the girls understand that if they want to go ahead in the industry long-term, then they need their qualifications."