Notes of the ‘UK Equine Disease Coalition’ meeting
Friday 18th July 2014
Room 632, Linen Hall, 162 Regent Street, London W1B 4JN
Attendance:
Paul Jepson (Horse Trust)
Richard Newton (AHT)
Ben Mayes (BEVA)
Keith Meldrum (World Horse Welfare)
Roly Owers (World Horse Welfare)
Martyn Blissitt (Scottish Government)
Liz Redmond (for item 10)
Apologies:
James Wood (Cambridge University), James Yeates (RSPCA), Richard Hopley (Defra), Balazs Toth
(AHVLA), Josh Slater (RVC)
1. RO welcomed everyone including Martyn Blissitt (Veterinary Adviser, Scottish Government) and
noted an unfortunate number of apologies. Josh Slater had agreed to join the group but
unfortunately was away on the Horsepower fundraising tour in Russia.
2. Notes on the previous meeting – Fri 7 Feb – were agreed as an accurate record.
3. Matters arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
a. Equine Dealers Scheme. BM said that there had been little progress here but stressed that
some form of scheme was needed – especially given that horses were defined as property
and the ever growing rise in no-win/no-fee lawyers. RO agreed to take this forward to the
Equine Sector Council Steering Group.
b. FEEVA Working Group on disease surveillance. BM reported that BT had previously agreed
to replace Andy Paterson on the group, although neither AP nor BT had been able to make a
meeting yet. BM felt that it needed a dose of ‘realism’ and asked whether RN would
consider joining the next meeting. BM/RN to discuss
c. Defra’s Slaughter/Compensation Review. KM said this was inching forward slowly, having
attended the most recent workshop on 30 Jun – it is planned that the issue will run till after
the 2015 General Election as there is some research still to do.
d. The Specified Diseases (Notification and Slaughter) Order – Scotland. MB confirmed that
this had come into force on 28 Jun.
e. EU Draft Animal Health Regulation. KM said that the next meeting of the Core Group (Jan
Rogers is the equine sector representative) is on 22 Jul – and he is attending both this and
the next workshop on 24 Jul.
f. Proposed disease control protocols for equine charities. No update received from JY and RN
felt it would be very helpful to have a brief concept note from JY outlining the thinking here;
RO to follow-up with JY.
g. Tripartite Agreement. RO noted that the revised agreement had become effective as of 18
May meaning any exports to France that do not fulfil the TPA criteria would require health
certification. The change had caused some significant ‘teething problems’ with transporters.
There are also on-going issues with the generation of the DOCOM paperwork (to register all
TPA movements on TRACES) – this clearly had knock-on effects with the ability to enforce
the new agreement – and without adequate enforcement the new TPA will have little effect.
KM highlighted that the final version of the TPA signed by the 3 CVOs in May 2014 did not
require Defra to renegotiate the agreement if CEM and EVA are denotified – but did not
know when this change had been made.
h. Equine Identification. RO outlined the latest situation with the revised Regulation and how it
did not make it onto the agenda for either the May or July meeting of SCoFCAH due to
i.
ongoing concerns from Member States. He felt there was a real risk the revised regulation
might be shelved – the Defra Minister Lord de Mauley had agreed to review the situation at
the end of the year should no significant progress be made in Brussels.
AHS vaccine Pirbright workshop. RN said that the workshop due to take place on 8 Jul had
been postponed by RH – and that it is due to take place later in the year.
4. Terms of Reference – no comments raised.
5. Animal Exotic Disease Contingency Plan – deferred to next meeting in BT’s absence.
6. Defra Red Tape Challenge. Intensive lobbying efforts by the TBA have been on-going but the
consultation timeline is no clearer. KM said that he was doing a follow-on exercise for the TBA
on the risks to trade with denotification. He felt that there were issues with regards to
veterinary certification should CEM/EVA be denotified. PJ queried how real the risk was to trade
– all agreed that there was a risk but that it was difficult to know what the reaction of our major
third country export countries (Australia, USA, India, Middle East) until such a move was made.
RO also stressed the importance of our justification including the implications that denotification
had for disease control more generally – as it ‘flies in the face’ of true responsibility and cost
sharing.
7. Disease update
a. Equine Infectious Anaemia. Draft policy paper still outstanding.
b. Equine Influenza. RN noted that it had been a fairly quiet time with only 2 cases confirmed
earlier this year. There was likely to be some movement with updated vaccines coming to
the market by the end of the year.
c. Strangles. RN had attended an SAC/BHS event at Langford in May promoting the PASS
scheme. Uptake to the scheme was still very modest. BM noted that it was becoming far
more ‘normal’ for a strangles test to be included as part of a vetting.
RN outlined the work that XL vets (Emma Batson – ex Merial) had been doing in the area of
biosecurity; RN to forward link of their current biosecurity campaign.
d. Equine herpes. RN said that it had been fairly quiet, with 2 outbreaks in the west country
on-going. This was a disease that we would need to manage for evermore.
e. African Horse Sickness. RN noted that the recent (38) outbreaks in the controlled zone
around Cape Town have been declared as resolved.
f. Other – Piroplasmosis – BM noted that he had 3 positives in his 3 most recent export
applications (sport horses going to Canada). RN to send the group links to allow the group
to update themselves on the importance/relevance of the disease.
8. Update from related groups/initiatives
a. Animal Health and Welfare Board for England (AHWBE) – Board’s performance review now
been published – was pretty critical. Board is continuing until the General Election at least.
b. Defra Sector Council – nothing to report.
c. Equine Sector Council (ESC) for Health and Welfare – Steering Group next meeting on 25 Jul.
d. Equine Establishments Working Group. BM/KM re-tabled the amended voluntary equine
establishments’ code checklist – BM and KM to develop further – and RO to raise at next
meeting of the ESC.
e. AHT Equine Industry Committee (EIC). Next meeting on 17 Sep.
9. National Equine Health Survey. 2014 results still to be circulated – although initial results
indicated that 15% of respondents were aware of the checklist for Equine Health.
10. Equine antimicrobial use in the UK. LR (Veterinary Director at the FSA currently seconded to the
VMD) outlined the project looking at improving the recording of antibiotic usage in different
sectors, given the growing concern about antimicrobial resistance. Currently manufacturers
have to declare what they sell each year – figures are published by the VMD – but this is very
high level information and does not allow for analysis of multispecies antibiotics (especially in
the pig and poultry sectors) and off-label use of antibiotics. Indeed a key issue here is to protect
off-label use.
The project had engaged with the Commission, some other Member States – where there are
different levels of monitoring – and with the BVA Medicines Group (and RUMA). LR also noted
the UK AMR resistance strategy, which does include a data collection element, and the current
review of the European Veterinary Medicines Regulation.
The opportunities of gathering data through practice records was discussed – and the on-going
work at Liverpool and the RVC. RN highlighted the Syndromic Surveillance Pilot project that the
AHT had put forward to Defra for funding a couple of years ago without success. LR felt this
might be reviewed more favourably; RN to forward application to LR.
KM queried what level of routine microbiological surveillance was taking place at
slaughterhouses – LR recognised the importance of this but that the project was still in its early
stages. KM also queried why there was no residue surveillance updates on the Veterinary
Residues Committee website since 2012; LR to follow-up (post meeting note – the full results for
2013 are now on the VRC website).
There was a general discussion about the opportunities for a central equine database acting as
the repository for data on antimicrobial use and also how useful passports would be as a
medication record. All agreed that neither would be of any practical value here.
LR summarised by saying that it was important that each sector put steps in place to better
record antibiotic use otherwise there was the risk that the Commission would impose
requirements here. She felt that BEVA had done some excellent work in the area of AMR and
felt that the proposed BEVA app on off-label antibiotics could provide a valuable adjunct to data
gathering in the equine sector. It was suggested that LR meet up with Mark Bowen from BEVA
in October; RO to coordinate.
11. AOB
a. Equine manifesto. RO tabled a very early draft of an equine sector manifesto that the ESC
hoped to pull together by late August. It was important to include issues from across the
sector – not just health and welfare.
12. Date of next meeting – November. RO to canvas for dates.