Report of Meeting of Equine Liaison Group held in Backweston on 22 June 2015.
Attendance: Dept: Martin Blake CVO; Ms. Sally Gaynor SSVI; Dr Eoin Ryan SRO and K. O’Connor.
A.Corbally HSI; V. Duggan, Vety. Ireland; A. Munnelly BBA; Sam Nelson DARDNI; D. Leadon ; Eoin
Griffin (IRTA) (apologies N. Hannon; J.O Connor; T. Connors).
Introductions
In his opening remarks, Mr Blake said he was pleased to welcome the first meeting of the Equine
Liaison Group, which had been re-formatted following the equine health seminar in January 2015.
It was heartening that the consensus from the seminar was for the continuation of a high level group
to interact routinely with the Department on equine health matters. The new group is
representative of the following Stakeholder groupings- Sport Horse breeding, Sport Horse
competition, Thoroughbred Breeding; Thoroughbred Competition; Animal Health services and other
service providers- and have been nominated to the group on that basis. The members are:
Name
Representing
Alison Corbally
Sport Horse Breeding
Tríona Connors
Sport Horse Competition;
Eoin Griffin
Thoroughbred Competition
John OConnor
Thoroughbred Breeding
Vivienne Duggan
Animal Health Service Providers
Ann Munnelly, Nicholas Hannon,/Des Leadon
General/other support/service providers
Mr Sam Nelson is representing DARDNI on the Group.
Terms of reference for new group:
The following terms of reference were agreed :
1. Ensure effective communications links between DAFM and the industry.
2. Promote the development and implementation of basic bio security measures for each
sector of the industry.
3. Assist in the development of animal health strategies appropriate for the industry.
Update on Review of TPA
Mr Blake updated the group on the operation of the new TPA which became fully operational in
August 2014. He recalled that the original TPA agreement allowed for the free movement of all
registered horses between the 3 Members- Ireland, UK and France. In view of possible animal health
risks and to prevent the easy passage of disease, the TPA was reviewed (the review had been
discussed on an ongoing basis with the previous ELG) to allow only certain categories of horse ,
whose health status could be guaranteed by a designated TPA body , travel with a DOCOM to/from
France from/to UK & Ireland. All other horses going to France must have official certification. A
review of the operation of the TPA took place in March and a number of practical issues arose
including the need for a common oversight by the Competent bodies and the Department will
shortly organise an audit of the operation of Irish TPA bodies in regard to keeping of records,
traceability etc. . Ms Munnelly raised the issue of the continuing requirement for an AHA cert/export
licence when transiting UK to France. This has been raised with the UK authorities and we will
continue to pursue it.
Protocol for Investigation of EVA
Ms Sally Gaynor presented a diagram which represented the DAFM protocol for dealing with EVA
positives in cases of sero-positivity resulting from (after investigation)
• Active infection;
• Previous infection;
• Vaccination (stallions or imported mares).
In the worst case scenario of a shedding stallion, the Department would require indefinite isolation
or castration of the stallion. The issue of whether to take 2 semen samples on the same day (as
allowed for in the OIE Manual) or 7 days apart (as per the Codes of Practice) was discussed. Mr
Leadon said that as thoroughbreds were not used to semen collection, the latter was preferred. In
the case of sport horses, this would be less of an issue and could be left up to the owner. Mr Leadon
enquired about whether the Department had considered the possibility of selective covering which
France has in place. He also considered that stallions who were proven sero-positive from
vaccination should not have undergo repeated semen testing as required by some export markets
and suggested that the Department might look to having the removal of repeat semen testing
agreed with the export market(s).
MS Gaynor emphasised the necessity for early notification to the NDCC or CVRL as otherwise the
laboratory loses valuable time in investigating or tracing stallions/contacts. There is a legal
obligation on persons – owner, practitioner or private lab (the bulk of EVA screening is carried out by
private laboratories) - to notify suspicion or positive results to the Department. Whilst some felt that
the responsibilities were not clear, Mr Blake said that the legislation is very clear in this regard.
Disease situation update:
There was very little to report- the influenza situation in non-vaccinated horses has now settled
down. The Glanders case in Germany (Nov 2014) is now closed off . An EIA + in Poland was reported
to OIE. In reply to Ms Duggan, Ms Gaynor said that the case is subclinical and the origin is unknown.
Approach to Piroplasmosis – benefit or otherwise of current legislative approach
Currently Piroplasmosis is notifiable under Irish law and is also notifiable to the OIE. It is not
however notifiable under the EU Trade Directive or under the TPA. In the discussion on the merits of
having Piroplasmosis notifiable, it was suggested that while there may be a reluctance to test for
the disease , there is nevertheless a degree of self regulation insofar as testing for PIro is required
for export markets and for sales. Notification is a requirement for the Japanese market. The
Department will reflect further.
AOB:
Communication: Mr Blake explained that a key responsibility for each member of the new group
would be to communicate on a two-way basis with their respective stakeholders. It was also agreed
that while horse welfare was not part of the groups’ remit (given the role of FAWAC), animal welfare
could be discussed in the context of health related issues.
Surveillance/RESPE: Mr Des Leadon spoke about disease surveillance in the context of nonnotifiable diseases for the purposes of providing evidence of absence and to heighten awareness of
diseases such as CEM and the role of AI. He gave a brief outline of the RESPE system which has been
operating in France for 10-15 years and which has also been deployed in Germany and Sweden.
France has gifted it to Ireland. This is a system whereby PVP’s report non-notifiable diseases to a
central collating centre. It was agreed that the Group might be an effective communication vehicle
in the event a RESPE type system were to be set up in Ireland.
Next meeting
In the autumn on a date to be fixed.