Temporary ban period extended

The temporary ban period on horses’ movement in the kingdom, as a result of the Glanders outbreak, has been extended until the end of October.

Glanders is a highly-contagious bacterial illness caused by the bacterium burkholderia mallei that occurs primarily in horses and has no known vaccination or cure. The outbreak of the killer disease was first recorded in the kingdom more than a year ago after infected horses were imported from Kuwait. It has since claimed at least 126 victims.

The outbreak affected the movement of horses between stables and brought an abrupt end to all equine shows and horse trading to prevent its spread.
 
Stable and horse owners in the kingdom were recently given an update on the situation by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (BREEF) officials in Zallaq. They were also provided with extensive information on the current regulations and procedures with regards to owning animals in the kingdom by the Directorate of Animal Wealth at Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning in Budaiya.

I was among the invitees and today provide a brief overview of the information for our readers. It includes a briefing on the issue of compensation to horse owners affected by Glanders.
 
A permanent committee entitled ‘Compensation Committee for Horse Owners Affected by Glanders’ is being established at the Agricultural Affairs at the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. It is headed by the Assistant Undersecretary of Agricultural Affairs and will include five other members and a legal advisor and financial affairs representative. 

This committee shall be responsible to consider compensation applications submitted by horse owners affected by the outbreak. To be considered applicants must have registered their horses preferably with a microchip profile. The horse owner must have informed the authority about the incident and it must be the body which decided to slaughter the horse after confirming the horse was affected with Glanders.

Compensation applications must be submitted on a special form within 15 days from date of getting rid of the affected horse. The committee will meet when summoned by its head, and will submit its report and recommendations to the Undersecretary within one month of receiving the compensation application.

Registering horses with the Directorate of Animal Welfare is compulsory and the authorities will provide every animal with an electronic microchip that provides all details of the horse – date of birth, place of importation, owners name, CPR and address details, and name of the stable where the horse is kept, and its owner along with any other relevant information.

Any birth of a horse, whether born dead or alive, must be registered within 48 hours. In the event of the death of any horse, the owner has to immediately inform the authorities as it cannot be buried or disposed of without an appropriate licence.

Authorities must be advised of the importation of any horse whether permanent or temporary and the importer must advise the authority within 24 hours of the animal arriving at the port.

The decree with respect to the conditions for transporting horses within the kingdom is very detailed and specific.

Horses cannot be transported without prior licence that is issued when specific conditions and requirements for the welfare of the horses have been met. These include appropriate registered vehicles that meet the required capacity, size, flooring, ventilation, doors and lighting for transporting horses to avoid against injury or undue suffering.

A horse transporter has to meet specific obligations and must have proper documentation including horse transportation licence, exact details of horse owner, shipment origin, destination, date and time of departure and length of journey. Instructions are also provided in case of traffic accidents or breakdowns.

If transporting horses imported into the kingdom, the vehicle has to be accompanied by a representative of the General Directorate of Customs until the animals reach veterinary quarantine.

All horse stables made to shelter and rear horses cannot be established without appropriate licences. No private clinic can be established or managed unless it is licensed and the veterinarian in-charge must immediately advise authorities if there is a suspicion of any epidemic diseases and must maintain a detailed register of all cases treated.

A register of all licensed private clinics and veterinarians is available with the authorities.

All documents providing further details are currently available on the BREEF website – www.equestrianbahrain.com and Export Health Certificate Procedure and Disease Surveillance and Quarantine Procedures are available at the office in Zallaq in both English and in Arabic. 

l DON’T FORGET – Friday at 4pm will see the start of the penultimate Dilmun In-house Show Jumping League event. Good luck to all competitors and we are all looking forward to what changes the leader board will give us as the riders and horses head to the finale on June 24.