Horse Council

The information will be used to assist NSW DPI and Biosecurity Queensland to plan more effective Hendra risk management and related communication strategies

All information provided is in confidence and no individual data will be released.

People have until the 28 February 2012 to have their say.

There are no current cases of the Hendra virus in NSW. Throughout 2011, ten horses on eight properties died as a result of the Hendra virus. These cases were concentrated in the localities of Wollongbar, Macksville, Lismore, Mullumbimby and Ballina.

Horses + Climate Impacts Workshop

A national workshop about horses + climate impacts Adelaide Showground Thursday 14 June 2012.

Open to national horse organisation representatives, Natural Resources Management Officers, Local, State & Federal Government representatives in the fields of Climate Change, NRM, environment, water & sustainable farming; Researchers & educators who have a strong horse industry-science interface.

Workshop program out late February.

Registrations are welcome from accross Australia. General registrations $143 per person/$90 Horse SA members. Book here: http://www.trybooking.com/BCJG

Sponsored by Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC)

FREE WORKSHOP OFFERS:

Offer No. 1 Ten free positions are available for national horse organisation representatives or their SA nominee

Offer No.2. Ten free positions are available to horse property managers within the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Region. These positions have been sponsored by the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board.

Applications to be sent to Julie Fiedler Email: horsesa@horsesa.asn.au stating your full contact details and a short description of why you would like to attend the workshop.

If you are interested in this event, you might also like the Australian Horse Keeping Conference

FaceBook page Horses & Climate Impacts

Australian Horses benefit from Two New Industry Initiatives

http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/13788

Australian horses are the beneficiary of a collaborative approach to sharing common ground on horse welfare & wellbeing.

A new survey for horse owners follows the recently launched Australian Horse Welfare Protocol.

Developed by horse owners for horse owners, the Australian Horse Welfare Protocol is a set of eight agreed principles including sharing information, working collaboratively, actioning continuous improvement, supporting research & promoting education. Annexures include a Code of Practice, links to research organisations and resources for clubs.

Horse clubs & organisations are invited to sign up to the protocol.

“It's easy to participate through an online process which provides the signatory with a certificate to display.” said Dr Roger Lavelle, President of the Australian Horse Industry Council. “The Protocol belongs to those who are the signatories”

As part of an annual review process set in place for the Protocol, a national horse welfare & wellbeing survey is now online. Closing on 4 March, the survey aims to gather baseline data on how horses are typically kept and cared for in Australia. Information that has only been captured in part or informally in the past.

The Protocol and the Survey can be found on the newly launched Australian Animal Welfare Strategy website developed by the Department for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry.

Horse organisations seeking more detailed information can contact the Australian Horse Industry Council.

Australian Horse Welfare Protocol

www.australiananimalwelfare.com.au/content/horse-welfare-protocol

Australian Horse Welfare & Wellbeing Survey www.australiananimalwelfare.com.au/news/2011

Australian Horse Industry Council www.horsecouncil.org.au

Media contact: Roger Lavelle: 0428 996 328 03 54291 682

First Horse Organisations Sign Up to the Horse Welfare Protocol

13th December, 2011.

Congratulations to

HorseSA (www.horsesa.asn.au) and Quest Equine Welfare (http://questequinewelfare.org)

for being amongst the first to sign up to the new AHIC Horse Welfare Protocol, committing to ongoing Horse Welfare. We invite everyone to join these groups in the promotion of Horse Welfare within their organisations by encouraging your Committees to get on board and sign up!

Find out more about the Horse Welfare Protocol at http://www.australiananimalwelfare.com.au/content/horse-welfare-protocol.

The Australian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AAWAC) launches new website.

29 November, 2011.

Congratulations to the new AAWAC for launching a new dedicated website www.australiananimalwelfare.com.au for the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy has been launched by the AAWAC today. This website contains all the up to date information about Animal Welfare issues and we encourage horse enthusiasts to visit the website regularly to see what is being achieved in Animal Welfare.

MEDIA RELEASE

25th November, 2011.

Horse Related Research has a Future in Australia

Over 25 national horse organisation leaders met in Sydney recently to discuss The Future of Horse Research in Australia.

The Australian Horse Industry Council is managing a consultation project to discuss this most important issue with national horse industry representatives.

The Rural Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC) horse program has supported many research projects over the past 16 yrs, however a funding withdrawal threatens their very future.

“The AHIC is in a position to lead the national conversation about the values horse owners and organisations put on research” said Dr Roger Lavelle, President of the AHIC “Common ground across all industry sectors, such as health, biosecurity and welfare provided our starting point”

Preparation for the workshop included design of posters outlining some key areas where research has had a high impact, including safety in eventing, prevention of horse deaths through laminitis and improved management information for stud managers to aid prevention of abortion in mares on properties suffering from hairy caterpillar infestations.

An online survey was also conducted, with over 930 horse owners responding. The survey provided insight into priorities for research as identified by people who own or ride horses. Horse health, land management, nutrition and biosecurity featured as key issues.

The workshop outcome determined that horse research does have a future in Australia.

Importantly, the participants were open to supporting national coordination of horse research and investigation of permanent funding options to ensure long-term viability.

“I found the meeting to be extremely successful, the presenters were clear and set a very good atmosphere. The topics given at the meeting and the pre information sent out, clarified the reasons and importance of funding for Horse Research” said Dianne Bennit, Chair of Western Australia Horse Council and presenter of “Talking Horses” radio show. “I also found the opportunity to meet and network with the other organisations useful”

"It was wonderful to see the strong level of support from a wide range of horse bodies for ongoing engagement about how nationally coordinated horse research might be managed in the future for the benefit of Australian horses." said Nigel Perkins, Manager Horse R&D Program, RIRDC.

Following evaluation of the final workshop project report, the potential exists for a broader national consultation to commence during 2012. This will allow for individuals, the corporate sector and further horse organisations to join the conversation.

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