Opposition to relaxing quarantine rules on Saudi Arabian horses

Concerns over deadly African Horse Sickness are behind the American Horse Council’s opposition to Saudi Arabia’s asking to ease quarantine restrictions on horses from its shores.

Horses from Saudi Arabia, as well as all countries affected amongst African Horse Sickness (AHS), must endure quarantined for 60 days earlier entering the United States, piece horses from countries without the affliction may endure admitted amongst a shorter quarantine period.

The extended current is required to ensure horses from AHS countries are non infected amongst the disease, which has a long incubation period.

AHS is a highly contagious as well as deadly affliction that affects horses, donkeys, as well as mules as well as has a mortality charge per unit of measurement of upwards to 95 per centum inwards naive Equus caballus populations similar that inwards the US.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), inwards response to a 2009 asking past times Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to endure recognized equally gratis of AHS, studied the condition of the affliction inwards that country.

The Equus caballus council said the USDA’s evaluation used data provided past times Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as other sources.

Based on its evaluation, the USDA concluded that the affliction was non known to endure introduce inwards Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as that the likelihood of introducing it into the US through imports of horses from that province was low.

But it likewise concluded that “the biological as well as economical consequences of an AHS outbreak inwards the USA could endure high”.

In June, the subdivision proposed to alter the federal import rules to take away Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the listing of countries affected past times the affliction as well as permit horses to endure imported amongst a much shorter quarantine period.

In lengthy comments filed amongst the subdivision on August 11, the Equus caballus council opposed removing Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the listing of AHS-affected nations. It maintained that the potential benefits were non sufficient to commencement the potential adverse consequences, which included the high mortality charge per unit of measurement of upwards to 95 percent; the costs of caring for or euthanizing as well as disposing of sick horses; the imposition of interstate as well as international controls as well as go restrictions on equine movements, which is as well as therefore of import to the manufacture that would accompany an outbreak; as well as the resultant economical affects as well as lost revenue to the manufacture inwards breeding, racing, showing as well as exhibiting horses.

The counil noted that well-nigh of America’s trading partners, as well as peculiarly the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), did non recognize Kingdom of Saudi Arabia equally gratis of the disease.

The council likewise questioned whether the USDA or the manufacture itself would accept the resources to answer to an AHS outbreak.

The council persuasion is that the USDA evaluation did non brand a sufficient representative to alter the rules as well as set US horses as well as the $US102 billion American Equus caballus manufacture at run a jeopardy of the disease.

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