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ALL WHITE!!!
As from midnight last night Australia has been declared E.I free. A travelling horse statement will not be required, but show organisers will still need to continue event registrations.
Of course good news stories brings out the pollies and New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald wasn't shying from the media spotlight for this one. Here's what he had to say.
“From July 1 a Travelling Horse Statement (THS) will not be required before moving horses, the remaining green zone will revert to white in line with the rest of the state and all EI cross border requirements will be removed. Event registrations will continue,”
“Horse owners will now be free to move their horses anywhere in NSW and across state borders without any EI restrictions or reporting requirements.
“This last step in the battle against EI finally brings Australia’s largest ever exotic animal disease outbreak to a successful conclusion.
“No other country has successfully eradicated EI and kept it out. New Zealand and Iceland are now the only other EI free countries.
"Many international experts believed we could not eradicate EI. We have again demonstrated our proud history of successfully eradicating animal diseases.”
NSW chief veterinary officer, Bruce Christie, said that without the ongoing support, patience and sacrifice of the recreational and professional horse sectors, EI would have become endemic.
“Of particular importance was the community’s acceptance of the horse standstill,” Mr Christie said.
“We could not have controlled the spread of the EI virus without the ongoing cooperation of horse owners.
“At the height of the EI outbreak horses on thousands of properties were infected and more than 200 new property infections were being confirmed each day.
"More than 47,000 horses on almost 6,000 properties have now recovered from EI infection and no longer carry the disease.
In Queensland as well as NSW the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) must receive notification of all horse events held before they start.
Event means an activity involving animals of the family Equidae, including, for example, a horse race, a horse sale, a horseshow or gathering of horses for competition.
I'm not sure about NSW but in Qld, in addition to completing the horse event notification, event organisers and participants must meet the responsibilities outlined below.
Event organisers are encouraged to allow all horses to attend events regardless of the horses' status as susceptible, recovered, or vaccinated. The DPI&F does not restrict horses´ attendance at events based on their equine influenza (EI) immune status.
Event organisers' responsibilities
1.Use the horse event notification to register your event with the DPI&F at least seven days before the event commences.
2.Ensure the horse event notification includes the name of the event, the address of the event property, the date of the event, the organiser details, an approximate number of horses that will be attending the event, and the origin of these horses (Queensland or interstate).
3.Ensure that you keep a list of competitors and their contact details for a period of six months.
4.Follow event preparation recommendations for event organisers. These recommendations are important during the EI recovery period.
Participants' responsibilities
1.Provide your horse's details and contact details to the event organiser in writing including:
the number of horse attending the event;
2.the property identification code (PIC) for the property from which the horse or horses had travelled to attend the event; and
3.the name and address of the person in charge of the horse or horses at the event.
4.Note: Participants can download the Horse Event Participant Form and submit the completed form to the event organiser.
5.Comply with random sampling procedures for the DPI&F's surveillance program if requested.
6.Follow event preparation recommendations for participants. These recommendations are important during the EI recovery period.
For those who aren't sure contact your states DPI or visit their websites.
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