Survey provides snapshot of NZ’s non-racing horses

New Zealand’s mightiness to effectively scrap a major illness outbreak inward horses would live on seriously hampered past times the express information on the country’s non-racing horses, researchers suggest.

A study conducted at Massey University into the demographics of the country’s non-commercial Equus caballus population noted that New Zealand is inward a similar seat to Commonwealth of Australia earlier an outbreak of equine influence inward August 2007 that required a national disease-response that toll millions.

“The lack of cognition regarding the susceptible population impeded control, peculiarly the effective implementation of vaccination,” the researchers, led past times Dr Sarah Rosanowski, noted.

“Currently, New Zealand is inward a similar province of affairs to Commonwealth of Australia prior to the equine flu outbreak, concerning the lack of availability of accurate demographic information regarding the equine population.

“Whilst the racing manufacture is of import to New Zealand’s economic scheme too all horses involved inward the manufacture must live on registered, at that spot is express information most non-racing horses.

“Therefore, designing too therefore implementing effective handling too command strategies for infectious illness outbreaks would live on seriously inhibited past times a lack of cognition of the characteristics of the susceptible population, peculiarly horses non involved inward the racing industry.”

The researchers said a major difficulty inward obtaining information on the equine population, peculiarly the non-racing or non-commercial sectors, has oft been how to seat the properties or individuals of interest.

The study, published online inward the Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal, is the outset inward a serial regarding the collection of information for, too the evolution of, a model to evaluate the effectiveness of command strategies for equine flu inward New Zealand.

The researchers laid upwards out to seat the characteristics of the non-commercial equine population at the belongings level, too to outline the importance of these characteristics inward the context of the prevention too command of infectious disease.

Dr Sarah Rosanowski

They surveyed belongings owners on the issue too type of horses kept, the purposes for which they were kept, other animals on the property, too the proximity of neighbours amongst horses.

The cross-sectional postal survey, inward 2009, targeted non-commercial Equus caballus properties obtained from the official AgriBase agricultural belongings too livestock database, which has rural land-use information on 105,000 rural properties.

Properties identified inward the database as breeding or preparation for racing were deemed ineligible. Eligible properties were those classified as non-commercial – amongst horses used for work, sports, leisure, agistment, too other non-commercial purposes.

In total, 899 properties were identified as existence racing or breeding properties too were excluded from selection, resulting inward a potential sample of 17,430 properties.

Questionnaires were mailed to 2912 properties identified inward the database as having horses, selected inward such a agency as to live on able to extend the information into a national picture.

A total of 168, or 5.8 per cent, were returned due to unknown or unregistered addresses. The remaining 2744 questionnaires were assumed to create got been received past times the registered decision-maker of the property.

Overall, 1044 questionnaires were returned completed.

Of the returned questionnaires, 791 respondents kept horses on the property, resulting inward a reply charge per unit of measurement of sent questionnaires of 27.2 per cent.

A total of 52.7 per cent of respondents – 417 of the 791 survey responders – amongst horses on their properties came from either Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu or Canterbury regions.

The researchers establish that, on whatever 1 property, horses could live on kept for multiple purposes. Property size was non associated amongst whether a belongings had multiple reasons for keeping horses.

In total, 57.1 per cent of properties kept horses for simply 1 reason, of which 36.5 per cent were for recreation, 18.9 per cent as pets, 16.4 per cent for competition, xiv per cent for operate too 11.7 per cent for racing.

Horses were kept for 2 purposes on 27.9 per cent of surveyed properties, of which the most mutual combination was contest too recreation, at 46.1 per cent.

Horses were kept for multiple purposes on fifteen per cent of responding properties.

Competition, recreation, breeding too whatever other activeness encompassed 32.5 per cent of the multi-use group.

On 75.5 per cent of responding properties, all horses were owned past times the registered decision-maker of the property.

In all, one-half the properties kept horses for recreation, whilst 39.8 per cent kept horses for competition.

Of the properties that kept horses for competition, 32.9 per cent kept horses that were competing inward the Equestion Sports New Zealand disciplines of dressage, demonstrate jumping, eventing, endurance too para-equestrian, although these horses may non create got been registered.

“Even though commercial racing properties were excluded from the sampling frame, 120 properties (15.4 per cent) withal kept horses for either Standardbred or Thoroughbred racing or breeding activities,” the researchers noted.

“Thirteen per cent of the properties surveyed kept horses for work, mainly stock work.”

Reasons for keeping horses differed significantly past times belongings size, the researchers noted, amongst to a greater extent than horses kept for operate on large properties, compared amongst lifestyle properties.

Fewer large properties kept horses as either pets or for the racing manufacture than the other belongings sizes, spell lifestyle properties kept to a greater extent than horses for recreation (56.8 per cent) too medium-sized properties kept to a greater extent than horses for breeding (17.2 per cent) than the other belongings sizes.

The reasons for keeping horses differed significantly past times region.

On the North Island’s East Coast 52 per cent of properties kept horses for work, whilst 26.6 of properties inward Northland too 23.7 per cent of properties inward the Manawatu kept horses for work.

Of respondents that reported knowing whether their neighbours had horses, 58.6 of properties had at to the lowest degree 1 boundary neighbor that kept horses.

In total, 5322 horses were identified on the surveyed properties. Medium-sized properties had the greatest issue of horses, amongst 2216 (41.6 per cent).

Medium too large-sized properties had the highest median issue of horses, amongst four, spell properties classified as lifestyle too minor had three.

Livestock were kept on 90.9 per cent of Equus caballus properties. Of the properties that kept livestock, cattle were kept on 80.2 per cent, sheep on 63 per cent, too 42.3 per cent kept poultry. Cats too dogs were the most mutual types of companion animals, establish on 79.8 per cent of properties.

The study establish that 24 per cent of surveyed properties identified inward the AgriBase information as having horses did non genuinely create got a Equus caballus at the fourth dimension of the survey.

The median issue of horses on properties amongst horses was 3 to four, consistent amongst studies conducted inward other countries.

“The lack of reliable information most the location of horses would live on problematic inward a reply to an exotic illness such as equine influenza,” the authors said, noting too that the work was non unique to New Zealand

“The effective command of infectious diseases similar equine flu cannot live on expected if the commercial sector is targeted solely for command inward the trial of an outbreak.”

They continued: “In agricultural industries, illness command measures focus almost solely on the commercial producers inside the sector, rather than on hobby farmers, fifty-fifty though both groups hold animals that are as susceptible to infection.

“The same approach is probable to live on taken past times the New Zealand racing industry, inward the trial of an equine flu outbreak.

“Most of the properties inward the survey kept horses for recreation too contest too as such were unlikely to create got horses that were registered amongst ESNZ or either of the racing codes.

“Although non-commercial Equus caballus properties were targeted for survey, properties where horses were kept for the racing manufacture were too identified.

“Furthermore, this study highlighted the closeness of Equus caballus properties to each other. These findings create got of import implications for the command of infectious diseases, both inward the non-commercial sector, too the racing industry.”

The enquiry was funded past times the Ministry of Agriculture too Forestry, amongst AssureQuality providing the AgriBase* datasbase information.

The authors want to extend their thank you lot to the belongings owners who participated inward the survey. Their assist was much appreciated too without their back upwards this enquiry would non create got been possible.

 

*AgriBase was replaced past times Farms Online inward 2012. Farms Online is a rural properties database that is maintained past times the Department for Primary Industries too Innovation (formerly the Ministry of Agriculture too Forestry). Farms Online has been designed to enable a rapid biosecurity reply during an exotic illness outbreak. For to a greater extent than information most Farms Online, too how to register your farm become to .

Rosanowski, S.M., et al., Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 description of the demographic characteristics of the New Zealand non-commercial Equus caballus population amongst information collected using a generalised random-tessellation stratified sampling design. PREVET (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2012.05.016

 

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