Tuesday 23rd October 2007.
Today Dr Ricky MacMillan- Dual Olympian and one of Queensland's most successful female equestrians, Dr David Lovell- leading Equine Veterinary Practitioner & proprietor of Redland Veterinary Clinic, and Mr Peter Toft-International Endurance Competitor, Breeder & Exporter, were invited to meet the Queensland Premier Anna Bligh & senior advisors to discuss the Equine Influenza Crisis and its impact on the entire horse industry.
The focus of the meeting was on returning the Performance & Pleasure Horse Industry to normal activities in line with the Racing sector of the Horse Industry. The following principles were the basis of discussion.
Managing the Welfare of the Horse
Getting the Industry back to work
Eradication of the disease
What is clear is the Queensland Governments' genuine commitment to supporting the entire Horse Industry throughout this crisis. The Premier gave us the opportunity to present our concerns, including the need for timelines for industry security, and our requirements for the urgent vaccination of our horses. We advised the Premier of our request to the Commonwealth for the vaccination of sixty thousand horses so our mares can go to stud, our competition horses can resume training and our myriad micro industries canstart up again.
We also discussed the option of the use of 'Kill Vaccine's to complement the limited supply of 'Live Vaccine's. Premier Anna Bligh acknowledged that our team is well placed to represent Pony Clubs, Olympians, parents of horse mad kids, Commercial Operators, Breeders, Sporting Disciplines & Industry Service Providers, as well as the many back yard grass eaters.
She now understands the wide spread and diverse effect Equine Influenza is having on Queenslanders. Respecting that the EI crisis is controlled by the Commonwealth, under a National Management Group, Premier Anna Bligh will urgently be writing to the Prime Minister John Howard to put forward our case for support of the mass vaccination of Performance & Pleasure horses. Vaccinating in line with a priority plan, including stud horses from all breeds in the affected area of Queensland, with the clear mandate to get our industry going in the shortest possible time, there by salvaging the second half of our breeding season.
What we can advise, is that the concerns of our industry are understood by the State Government and we are confident that they will continue to work to minimise the impact of this disaster on our industry. It is clear now, having asked Premier Bligh for support, we must reciprocate and continue to act as a responsible united industry. The Performance andPleasure Horse Group will continue to work with the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries over the coming weeks to facilitate our strategies to get us back on track.
Please visit the DPI Website for regular updates & follow the Bio security procedures outlined there. I would like to acknowledge Wayne Wendt MP for Ipswich West for facilitating and his input to this meeting.
We want to set achievable goals:
Our Goal: Our industry up & running before Christmas.
But until then, we have no reason to celebrate until our horses can move & people can reclaim their livelihoods & lifestyles.
Peter Toft
Chair- QLD Performance and Pleasure Horse Industry Group
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment