Horse movement between Hong Kong and Australia which would affect the travel of Australian horses to Hong Kong's international races is set to be suspended on Oct. 2. The Australian government's Department of Agriculture and Water Resources informed the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conversation Department that it intends to suspend horse movements from Hong Kong to Australia pending a review of the biosecurity controls related to the Equine Disease Free Zone (EDFZ) between Hong Kong and Conghua Training Centre in the Chinese Mainland. The Conghua Training Centre is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2018.
The suspension of movement means horses cannot be transported directly from Hong Kong to Australia for racing or retirement purposes; Australian horses will not be permitted to travel to compete in Hong Kong's international races; and Hong Kong horses transported to Australia via New Zealand will require 180 days residency in New Zealand.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Hong Kong Jockey Club reiterated that horse movements to and from Hong Kong in relation to other countries will be unaffected. Horses purchased from Australia for permanent export to Hong Kong are also not affected.
“This is a highly prejudicial action and it is at odds with the substantial economic relationship between the racing, breeding and wagering sectors of Australia and Hong Kong, which has existed for many years,” said the HKJC's Executive Director, Racing Authority Andrew Harding. “DAWR's review of the EDFZ must be carried out swiftly so that regular horse movements from Hong Kong to Australia can be resumed in a timely manner and we are in discussions both directly with DAWR and through the Australian Consulate-General to ensure that this occurs. Furthermore, the Club's stable operations team will work with owners to find alternative retirement locations during this period.”
Trial movements of horses using the EDFZ, a World Animal Health Organization management system, began in March 2016, at which time the Australian government was formally notified. Over an 18-month period 19 horses were moved with the supervision of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conversation Department, Chinese Mainland veterinary authorities and the customs and immigration authorities of both jurisdictions. The horses were transported in government authority-sealed, GPS-monitored vehicles and housed in high-security stables within Conghua's 2,009 square kilometre disease-free and local horse-free zone. The Hong Kong Jockey Club noted in its statement that “this freedom from disease and total exclusion of other horses is enforced by the Chinese Mainland's Ministry of Agriculture.”
“Given that the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer did not express any concerns 18 months ago when he was officially informed about the first trial, it is impossible to see how DAWR can now say that these trials are the basis for imposing an immediate ban on direct imports from Hong Kong to Australia,” said Harding. “The truth is that the Club's biosecurity controls are world's best and the fact that each of the trials conducted since 2016 have been incident-free evidences this.”
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