Mother of rider who died pursues national horse register

A series of public hearings have finished at a Senate inquiry into the feasibility of horse traceability and the creation of a national horse register. Recommendations are expected from the Senate committee in November, with a report due in mid-December.

But the hearings have exposed division within horse industry ranks, and across parties, with the Nationals showing reluctance to push the concept on farmers presently struggling with the drought, and the Australian Campdraft Association opposing another layer of registration. It is generally accepted a potential registration fee would be about $50.

One of the committee members, Queensland Liberal National Party senator Gerard Rennick has told The Land he does not think his constituents want such a register at the present time.

"There are some valid issues that have been raised during the inquiry ... and it's clear that there are matters which need to be addressed," Senator Rennick said. "However, while I understand the rationale behind those calling for an extension to, or a NLIS-style registry being implemented for horses, I am personally reluctant to impose further regulation and costs on farmers and our rural and regional communities who are already doing it tough.

"These issues should probably be driven by a peak body that can deal with the many competing interests which are much more diverse than the cattle, sheep and pig industries.

"I would rather see industry address these issues themselves, however, I recognise government may need to facilitate some solutions in regards to biosecurity concerns and co-ordinating the collection of data. I would prefer a peak body to maintain control of a database rather than the government so that bureaucrats don't end up over-regulating the industry which invariably they will over time."

NSW Farmers has backed the register saying it will be a vital tool in biosecurity control, especially in the wake of the devastating 2007 equine influenza outbreak that cost over $500 million. NSW Farmers policy director Aly Bunton said it was important the horse industry got together and put a case to the Federal Government on exactly what it wanted - for instance if there was a disease outbreak, the industry would want to indentify the location of 95 per cent of horses within a day, or another benchmark. She doubted the government would move to regulate an industry if there was not full support.

"I think at this stage it could take a decade for this to be implemented," Ms Bunton said.

The backing of states and territories would be vital. At the moment the NSW Department of Primary Industries has been the most proactive in devising a system for such a register.

The Waugh family, of Newcastle, have been pushing for the register in the wake of the death of their daughter Sarah while at a jillaroo course at Dubbo TAFE in 2009. A register would have revealed the horse she fell off was a racehorse only a few weeks earlier.

Juliana Waugh and her husband Mark were major drivers of a NSW code of practice for inexperienced riders and believe a national horse register would have alerted people in their daughter's course to the history of the horse from which she fell. (TAFE admitted liability for the horse accident and was fined $300,000 in 2014.)

Mrs Waugh painted a rosier picture of the Senate hearings than Senator Rennick, saying she believed the committee had moved from "if" to closely considering how it might be managed and costed. She said national legislative framework to do with animal disease emergency response already existed that could support such a register.

Mark Waugh said the register could bring all the horse registration data into one system from the various registration systems existing- such as for Hendra virus horse vaccinations. He understood horse owners should not have to register multiple times. The Waughs believe a one-off $50 registration fee was not a huge impost if it provided safety information and biosecurity.

This is part of Juliana Waugh's submission to the inquiry:

"My name is Juliana Waugh and I have been advocating for the development of a national horse traceability scheme for almost 10 years. My advocacy work began in 2009 after the tragic death of my 18 year old daughter Sarah at Dubbo TAFE in NSW. After a Safe Work NSW investigation, a Coronial Inquiry and a civil court case it was discovered that there were (and still are currently) no regulations in place to prevent a horse owner telling lies about how long they've owned a horse as well as it being often not possible to confirm or track its history (outside the racing industry - where horses must be registered birth to death or retirement).

"During my research and discussions with many horse owners and breeders, competitors and trainers (across a broad section of horse owners in Australia) I have found that this misrepresentation of how long a person has owned a horse when selling is often common place and in certain circumstances can have dire consequences (for both humans and horses).

"It is a surprise to us that in the 21st century at a time when rural communities are embracing technology to bring positive change to their lives and businesses, in a country which is known for its love of horses - we stop the nation for a horse race - that we do not have a traceability system. In fact it is not known how many horses there are in Australia or where they all are.

"Why Australia needs a national horse register?

"An Active Register can Improve Safety Outcomes. During the court cases into Sarah's death it was almost impossible to confirm the facts about the background of the horse involved; to confirm who had previously owned him and when he'd been purchased. Once a race horse leaves the track and is taken off the Australian Stud book records it is very difficult to track who last owned it and to uncover its history.

"We believe that if there had been a requirement for all horse owners in 2009 to have their horses registered on a national data base - the staff at Dubbo TAFE would have had the ability( and been required ) to easily check the horse's previous ownership. And they would have quickly discovered the recent racing history of the horse (despite being offered for supply as suitable for use in a course to teach beginners.) TAFE staff are on the record as stating if they had known the horse involved in Sarah's death was a racehorse (Snakey Thought had not even been de-registered at the time of his inclusion in the TAFE riding course) they would not have accepted the horse at all. This information would have immediately flagged the horse as unsuitable for use with beginners and in all probability our daughter Sarah would be alive today.

"Majority of the equine community understand the many benefits a register would offer.Those horse owners who already register their horses would not need to register them again as all data bases can be interfaced sharing basic information which can be privacy protected. We just need targeted resources to develop a simple central data base - the UK have just introduced one and the software is easily adopted for Australian needs.

"The Townsville Council , NSW Farmers and Tasmanian farmers have all made submissions which support the development of national traceability register for horses .The rural communities already suffering from the drought would benefit with costs reduced as the duration of another animal emergency disease outbreak could be shortened if horses were traceable on a national register.

"Beating the next EI Outbreak - A Register has been identified as a significant biosecurity tool that could help reduce the impacts of another Emergency Animal Disease

"After the Equine Influenza epidemic in 2007 many studies and investigations were commissioned to investigate how to prevent or stop another contagious equine disease when it arrives on Australian shores. Many studies concluded and stressed traceability was paramount to being able to quickly shut down and control any future outbreaks. However now over 10 years on, there is still no national traceability system in Australia to help protect horses against the next biosecurity outbreak when it arrives.

"In 2011 the Australian Veterinarian journal published a supplement which reviewed 60 post Equine Influenza research papers and articles.

"It was clear that a significant issue for the outbreak response in NSW was identifying owners and locations for the horse population at risk. Prior to the EI outbreak, there was no requirement for horse owners to register their properties and horse numbers with the DPI, since then it has become a requirement for all landowners with horses on their property to register voluntarily their number of horses against their Property Identification Code (PIC), including agisted horses however the compliance rate is low in many states . In QLD the difficulties and challenges of tracing horses, especially in the early stages of the outbreak, illustrated how essential an up to date data base is for guiding outbreak response direction and allocating resources in the most efficient effective way. A national horse register could achieve this .Compliance would be higher with all governments requiring a registration number to be verified for every horse for any transaction - sales/leases/hiring/slaughter/auction , competitions and shows , vaccines or any business conducted involving a horse .

"The benefits of a register have already been demonstrated. I have attached a copy of a flyer( see attached "Cancelled "flyer ) ) , a version of which was originally handed out to horse owners in early 2007 to encourage them to voluntarily put their horses on an emergency horse register. This was developed by the Australian Horse Industry Council (AHIC) assist by NSW Gov't funding at the time ($55,000).

"As of August 2007 there were only 800 horses registered. During the subsequent EI outbreak later in 2007 the site crashed as 220,000 horse owners scrambled to add their details and register as they saw the benefits of doing so.

"Unfortunately today due to there being no ongoing funding (also now many horse owners haven't experienced the effects and huge cost of the EI outbreak or have forgotten) this emergency register no longer exists.

"The post EI studies clearly found that the disease eradication was somewhat quicker and easier amongst thoroughbreds and race horses due to their robust and mandatory registration system. The cost to the government's (Federal, NSW & QLD) was enormous."

"Crime and Fraud prevention - NSW police have also been advocating for a horse register for some time. It has not only been us advocating for a horse register the NSW rural crime detectives have also been pushing for a horse traceability system as they have found that with no requirement to have horses registered in Australia it is very difficult for them to do their job - to identify and trace horse and their owners, and any associated potentially fraudulent activity (which we are led to believe is quite common).Please see attached statement to Workcover by the Rural Crime division.

"Industry is saying now they want a Horse Register. In the past when others have advocated for a national register, decision makers such as the Australian Health Committee of the Dept. of Agriculture (the collective Chief Veterinary Officers around the country) have said they would only consider such an initiative if the industry calls for it / wants it.

"NSW DPI did a survey in 2016/17 of horse owners. This was not restricted to NSW with respondents from around the country. 91 % of respondents stated they believed there is a need for a national horse registration scheme. I am aware that the AHIC tried to get a horse register developed in 2008, the year after the EI outbreak, (see the information in attachment named "cancelled".)

"NSW DPI are chairing a working committee which began this year involving all states and territories (except SA and Tasmania who are observing at this stage) Without federal leadership and funding progress will be slow."

"A Horse Register is more Practically Achievable than ever in Today's World - Industry, Information Technology has moved on significantly. We believe that with the advances in technology today, with the IT solutions available today, many of the concerns 11 years ago around registering horses would no longer be an issue.

"We are hopeful that the many advances in technology Apps and IT systems now available to us (many already in place in other countries around the world, including huge advances in the capabilities of facial recognition technology ) and into the future, the Senate committee will recommend that government allocates funds to develop a bespoke , inexpensive and simple horse traceability register to benefit all horse owners in Australian.

"We are very grateful that this important issue - traceability, the cornerstone of integrity in the horse industry is back into focus and now being examined at a federal level, bringing the collective voices of the horse world together for the first time towards to achieve positive sensible change for the benefit of all."