This article is from page 51 of the 2007-08-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 51 JPG
With the latest fear of a major Foot and Mouth outbreak starting to abate, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan TD, has announced a range of measures de- signed to protect the Irish horse in- CliamtA
Speaking during last week’s Dublin Horse Show, the minister announced that she has stepped up measures to protect Irish horse breeders with stricter enforcement and inspection of passports and identification for horses to ensure compliance with the regulations.
Coughlan said her department of- ficers will have enhanced powers in the enforcement of the EU regula- tions on identification of horses. In
addition, marts, sales yards and other premises where horses are assembled are required to ensure that horses entering their premises have valid passports. Department Inspectors will carry out random inspections to ensure compliance with these regula- tions by both horse owners and other operators in the country.
“Complhance with the new regula- tions is essential for the protection of the country’s equine population and industry, with the sport horse sector alone now worth in excess of EUR400 million and involving 53,000 peo- ple,’ said Minister Coughlan.
It 1s now just over a year since Ireland experienced its first case of Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA), a threat that almost forced the can- cellation of last year’s Dublin horse
show.
“Of the many lessons learned, we now appreciate the necessity of hav- ing an effective identification sys- tem for horses. The department will therefore be supporting new regula- tions being drafted by the EU Com- mission to provide for a national database for horses in each Member State,” she continued.
Minister Coughlan expressed her appreciation of the bloodstock in- dustry and, particularly, the sports horse sector, for its co-operation and patience during the outbreak and said that the efficient and expeditious manner in which the outbreak had been contained and eradicated could not have been achieved but for the commitment of the Department and the industry working together for the
benefit of all involved.
The minister concluded by remind- ing horse owners, stud managers and others in the industry to remain vigi- lant and to continue to exercise the highest standards of biosecurity to minimise the prospects of any fur- ther outbreaks of the disease.
Equine Infectious Anaemia also known by horsemen as “Swamp Fe- ver’, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus and transmitted by blood- sucking insects.
The virus is endemic in the Amert- cas, parts of Europe, the Middle and Far East, Russia, and South Af- rica. EIA can be transmitted through blood, saliva, milk, and body se- cretions. Transmission is_ usually through blood-sucking insects, such as the horse-fly and deer-fly.