Big blow for horse exports

South Africa’s horse export
industry may have been
dealt yet another blow
following an
outbreak of
African Horse
Sickness
(AHS).
While vets
in the Western
Cape have
moved swiftly
to contain
the spread
of AHS after
a horse died in the Paarl
region earlier this month,
the reality is that direct
exports to the European
Union could now possibly
be banned for another
two years following the
incident.
According to Dr Gary
Buhrmann, chief state
veterinarian, it all depends
on the severity of the
outbreak and how well it is
being managed.
He said all the stops
were being pulled out to
minimise the impact and to
ensure that no other horses
were at risk of infection.
The country’s multimillion
horse export
industry has been under
pressure for the past few
years following a ban on
direct exports in 2011 as a
result of an AHS outbreak.
“Currently all exports
are done via Mauritius,”
said Dr Buhrmann. “This
process takes twice as long
and costs at least three
times as much at around
$24 000 per horse – not to
mention all
the additional
stress on the
horse itself.”
He said at
present from
the Western
Cape AHScontrolled
area batches
of only up
to 64 horses
could be exported at a
time, while Gauteng, in
the low risk season, could
handle around another 54
horses. “This can happen
about every four months
only because of the ban
that is in place that does
not allow us to export
directly into the EU.”
Horse exports have
significantly declined
due to the ban and the
restrictions in place in
moving horses to the rest
of the world. Last year the
biggest consignment since
the 2011 ban left Cape
Town when 58 horses were
exported.
INSERT
Currently all exports
are done via
Mauritius.
– Dr Gary Buhrmann