Horse flu shambles

August 30, 2007 ·  

The handling of the equine influenza scare in Australia leaves a lot to be desired. The confirmation of cases in Queensland and New South Wales was disturbing and warranted an immediate lockdown in those states.

As horses and people in the racing industry frequently cross state borders it would have been appropriate to place authorities in other states on high alert.

I thought the standstill in Western Australia could have been delayed until Monday and enforced no longer than 48 hours. There were only 17 horses in the state from NSW and Queensland and their whereabouts were known. Unless one of those showed flu symptoms I thought they could have let the weekend’s racing go ahead.

Why it took so long to then get test results is something of a mystery. It’s also a mystery why horses from the same stables weren’t allowed to perform track work in isolation.

There are claims that some trainers broke the ban to work their horses. If that’s true they will have a considerable (unfair) advantage this weekend.

If the horse flu continues to be an issue in particular states then all movement of horses from those states should be prohibited. Western Australia should be safe though if it bans entry to animals from any state where the flu is active.

The consequences of cancelling race meetings such as the Kalgoorlie Cup over the next few weeks are just too frightening to contemplate. See this report in the Kalgoorlie Miner for the sense of relief which followed the lifting of the ban this week.

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