Horse Industry on Red Alert

News has just broken that two horses have been humanely destroyed in Wiltshire due to them carrying the deadly Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) — often termed "swamp fever". Even if an infected horse never displays the signs of the disease, it will always carry it. Most positive horses remain clinically normal, but are infectious to other horses for life as they are incapable of clearing the infection from their body. Any horse known to carry the disease HAS to be humanely destroyed. This is not only for the welfare of the infected horse but also to protect other horses from infection. The virus is transmitted by blood biting insects, therefore the risk of spread is high during warm weather. It occurs typically in low-lying swampy areas (hence the layman’s term “Swamp Fever”) that serve as an ideal habitat for biting insects such as mosquitos and midges.

The two horses found to be carrying the disease arrived in the UK before Christmas as part of a group of ten imports, nine from Romania where EIA is prevalent. The other seven horses tested negative. The tenth horse imported from Belgium is due to be tested shortly.

The yard where the outbreak has been reported is now isolated and DEFRA is currently working to find out movements of other horses through this yard. They are hopeful, due to the recent cold snap, that they have managed to contain the virus.

Most horses being imported from Romania are horses which bin end dealers have purchased extremely cheaply, often from the abattoir, to sell on for a profit to unsuspecting buyers. These dealers neither seem to realise nor care about the impact importing untested horses may have on the UK herd.

That is, until now, when the effect is directly on their pocket, and their future business.

Some questions need to be asked about the shipment of these horses. In order to comply with DEFRA regulations, horses being imported from Romania must have a Coggins Test* done. A negative result on a blood sample allows the horse to travel within 30 days, and the transporters must carry the appropriate paperwork with the passports. Had this happened with these horses, EIA would have been picked up and the horses refused entry to the UK.

It begs the question once more, WHY are there not sufficient checks at the ports to prevent this happening? This needs to be a major wake-up call to those who supposedly police the movement of horses from abroad.

*Coggins Test checks for EIA antibodies in the blood. Samples must be taken and analysed at an approved veterinary practice. Named after Dr Leroy Coggins who developed the test in the 1970s.