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Horse Flu Relief-Waiting game for horse owners on the Range |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
The
countdown is on for a mass vaccination program for all horses in the
Maleny and hinterland district. It’s just a matter of waiting for the
Department of Primary Industries to determine the exact boundaries of
the Equine Influenza buffer zone, then the horse owners will be
notified what to do.
According to vet Tom Duggan, of Maleny Veterinary Services the boundaries of the so-called buffer zone “changes from day to day”. “At this stage I haven’t been told when the (vaccination) program will begin for the Maleny region,” Mr Duggan said on Monday. “I saw the announcement on the news (the vaccination doses had arrived) but as yet I haven’t been notified.”
Mr Duggan said racehorses would receive priority, followed be recreational horses. “We don’t have any of the athletic horses (race horses) up here on the Range, but there are several hundred recreational horses which will all need vaccination. Once the program is announced for this area, the DPI will vaccinate and microchip all horses in the buffer zone free of charge.”
He urged horse owners to register their horses on the DPI website, which would enable owners to be contacted at the appropriate time.
East Maleny’s Helen McMahon and her two daughters Elle and Jessica can’t wait for the vaccinations to begin. “It’s been terrible for the industry,” Ms McMahon said this week. “We’ve got three quarter horses plus we’re looking after another. We had to cancel a show and several clinics last month. And we’re just the quarter horse section; the Maleny Pony club has had similar disruptions. “I feel sorry for the people who make their livelihood from horses. From the people who deliver the food, to the farriers who are severely restricted right through to the livestock transport guys and even the saddlery shops – they are struggling because of the situation. We exercise our horses on a bit of flat land we have at our place, but it’s impossible to get horse and rider as fit as you normally do. The indoor riding arena at the Maleny Showgrounds has been like a ghost town.”
To register horses or update your registration log onto www.dpi.qld.gov.au.
Meanwhile, Landsborough trainer Ray McCall has not been able to move his racehorses from his property for the past five weeks, and it is unlikely much will change for at least another two months. Mr McCall is just one of many involved in the racing industry on the Sunshine Coast affected by the outbreak of Equine Influenza in August. He has already had to let one staff member go because he simply does not have enough work to go around, and he expects that once his horses have been vaccinated against the virus, it will take some time before they are ready to race again. That is likely to cost him thousands of dollars.
“It costs us $4000 a month just to feed them alone,” Mr McCall said. “We’re making absolutely nothing but the money is still going out and you can’t expect people to work for nothing. We’re doing all we can to do disinfect inside and outside the stables; we’re taking all the precautions, but all we can do is wait and hope,” he said. “We’re lucky we’ve got an 800 metre track and a walker machine to give them some exercise, but some poor buggers can only walk them up and down their driveways.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 October 2007 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
