Tuesday 20 November 2007
 
The new Event Participant Declaration, Horse Health Statement and information for organisers of equestrian events has been loaded on to the Primary Industries and Resources SA web site.

Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Rob Rahaley said the information was another step towards recovery following the equine influenza outbreak interstate.

“With the continued success of the eradication program interstate and South Australia remaining free of the disease, we are confident that equestrian events will resume in 2008,” he said. “However, recovery is dependent on South Australia remaining free of equine influenza and to that end we need people to continue to be vigilant.”

• From today the permit system for transporting vaccinated and non-vaccinated horses into South Australia from non-infected states will change to a Horse Health Statement. A vet certificate is no longer required.
• From next month, SA riders/owners wanting to attend equestrian events will be required to complete an Event Participant Declaration. This declaration will be available on-line and must be retained by the event organiser.
• From January 2008, the permit system for events will continue, but with changes to help equestrian organisations resume activities.

Horse organisations and individuals will be required to play a lead role in self-managing their biosecurity and contingency planning and PIRSA will conduct audits of events to check compliance.

Currently, equestrian organisations are being asked to cancel or postpone events until 31 December 2007 to reduce the risk of an outbreak in SA.

The PIRSA web site also has a list of Frequently Asked Questions and a self-help guide to help people establish what they need – www.pir.sa.gov.au/horseflu

For more information:

• PIRSA hotline – 1800 675 888
• Their equestrian clubs and associations
• Horse SA 0402 488 306