MEDIA RELEASE6 September 2004 |
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Australian Racing Board Limited – 83
Baxter Road, Mascot NSW 2020 |
MEDIA RELEASE6 September 2004 |
|
Australian Racing Board Limited – 83
Baxter Road, Mascot NSW 2020 |
ELEPHANT BEATS RACEHORSE IN TIME TRIAL “Internationalisation of Australian racing is being hamstrung by bureaucratic delays within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry” Andrew Harding, Chief Executive of the Australian Racing Board said today. Harding’s statement was prompted by learning that Biosecurity Australia had recently fast tracked a quarantine protocol for importation of elephants from Thailand, a country affected by surra. “An import risk analysis for horses from surra-affected countries has been underway for over 6 years without resolution. It seems that import of elephants is a higher priority for this Minister than the racing industry”, Harding said. Surra is a blood borne parasite which can affect horses, camels and - elephants. The surra review is critical to resumption of import of racehorses from the United Arab Emirates. Import of horses from the UAE was suspended in 1997 following a report of a single case of surra in a horse which was resident on a camel breeding unit far remote from the Maktoum racing empire in Dubai. Horses from Dubai travel to international race meetings around the world without spreading surra but are denied direct access to Australia, even on a temporary basis. “I am aware that Biosecurity Australia is under resourced and has to prioritise but I am very disappointed that such this review is taking so long to resolve, one way or the other. If it is unsafe for horses to come to Australia from surra affected countries the racing industry accepts that, but for goodness sake let’s get on with it. Surely, 6 years of paralysis by analysis is long enough”. Quentin Wallace of International Racehorse Transport agrees with Harding that delays in the completion of import reviews are holding back Australia’s participation in international racing. Wallace says “In the last 10 years the UAE has become the focus of racing for European based horses during the November to March off season. With Australia's excellent prize money and readily available air transport between UAE & Australia the local racing industry could greatly benefit from the promotion & turnover generated by foreign horses participating in our feature races. The current suspension of direct horse imports from the UAE has allowed Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan a free run in taking the lead in international racing in our region.” Speaking from Dubai, the Emirates Racing Association, Director of Racing, Fin Powrie also voiced his continued concerns about the inertia of the import risk analysis into the surra parasite. “The horseracing world is becoming smaller through the vast number of quality race meetings at which a good horse can race. Indeed, horses such as Paolini, Surveyor and Falbrav each raced in more than 3 countries last season, securing substantial spoils for their owners.” Powrie said. “We respect that Governments have a responsibility to protect their country’s flora and fauna, but they can’t be recalcitrant or adopt a “hope it goes away” attitude when faced with an issue that has been addressed successfully in other countries.” “We in the
Emirates don’t ask any more than that the Australian Minister
for Agriculture give us an answer. The question was asked six years
ago!!!” Further inquiries regarding this Media Release call: Andrew Harding Ph: (02) 9551
7700 |
