Australian Equine Groups Sign Emergency Animal Disease Response AgreementBy Kentucky Equine Research Staff · February 22, 2011
Representatives of four national horse organisations recently welcomed news that the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA) will be signed in early March.
The four bodies to sign the EADRA on behalf of the racing, performance, and recreation sectors are the Australian Racing Board, Harness Racing Australia, Australian Horse Industry Council, and Equestrian Australia.
Australian governments and major livestock industries agreed that the horse industry should be admitted to the EADRA in order to provide greater certainty in responding to any future disease outbreaks. Under this agreement, the Commonwealth Government is committed to underwrite the industry's share of the costs of an emergency response, enabling swift and effective action to control and eradicate disease threats.
After extensive consultation coordinated by Animal Health Australia during the past 12 months, organisations representing a clear majority of horse owners have reached agreement about an acceptable funding mechanism to meet the industry's share of the costs of an emergency response. Under this arrangement, a levy will only be imposed after an actual disease emergency, once the response is finished.
The CEO of Animal Health Australia, Dr. Mike Bond, acknowledged the outstanding efforts of
the four horse industry organizations and many representatives of the key recreational sectors to reach this point of consensus.
“The Australian horse-owning community is very diverse and communications are often difficult, especially at a grassroots level. Many people in dozens of organisations have worked hard to ensure that there was effective consultation with their members. This was a crucial part of the submission that was made to the Commonwealth Government on behalf of industry by Animal Health Australia.”
