Kenilworth Race Course could become quarantine station

Cape Town - Currently horses exported from the Western Cape are required to serve a three month quarantine period in Mauritius on top of the three weeks already spent in quarantine in Cape Town, before going on to their final destination.

That is why the Western Cape government has investigated possibilities which would allow direct export to countries around the world.

One option considered was the establishment of a lock-down facility in the Western Cape, possibly at the Kenilworth Race Course, which would serve as quarantine, transit and export station.

According Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde, this is still a possibility, but that the current focus is actually on staying free from African Horse Sickness and reinstating direct exports in 2018.

“Our state vets and partners such as the Equine Research Centre are committed to understanding the science of the disease and we’re doing some innovative work in that space. Once we pass the EU audit in 2018, we will have increased market access, and can revisit plans for the lock-down facility.”  

READ: W Cape horse movement restrictions come into effect

A fresh consignment of horses is set for export to the European Union via Mauritius.

“We are set for another export scheduled for either February or March, to be confirmed shortly. Despite an incident of African Horse Sickness (AHS) last year in our AHS controlled area, our horses remain in demand across the world. Our vets implemented control measures immediately after the outbreak of AHS occurred, and in this way, we were able to control the spread of the disease," said Winde.

"In the latter half of 2018, we are hoping that the Food and Veterinary Organisation, an EU inspectorate, will conduct an audit on our AHS protocol implementation. It is our goal to explore routes to other countries as well. This would be possible after a successful inspection re-instating our direct horse exports to the EU.”

In 2016, 191 horses were exported from the Western Cape.

This week, the annual ban on the direct movement of horses into the Western Cape’s AHS controlled area zones came into effect. The high risk AHS season is from February 1 to June 30.

In order to manage the risk, all horses entering the province during these months will be held at an approved facility for a minimum of 14 days. After this period, they will be tested to prove they are free from AHS.