Equine Piroplasmosis Confirmed in Ireland

by Fran Jurga | 9 September 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com


This statement has been published by the Irish government after a highly unusual disease situation was discovered on a Thoroughbred stud farm there:

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has today confirmed the occurrence of Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) in a number of Thoroughbred horses in an equine facility in county Meath.

Piroplasmosis is a tick-borne protozoan disease of horses, mules, donkeys and zebra. It is caused by blood parasites - Theleria equi and Babesia caballi and gives rise to anaemia and jaundice in affected animals. The disease is not readily contagious and has no Zoonotic implications and therefore no public health concerns arise.

A notifiable disease in Ireland since July 2009, it has not been officially reported in this country before although it is understood that a previous incursion did take place. The disease is present in Mediterranean countries but is not present in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia.

The facility in question has been served with a movement restriction notice and epidemiological investigations are underway to establish the origin of the disease and the extent of the spread, if any, to other locations.

The Department has been in contact with industry representatives who have been informed of the situation. A meeting with industry representatives has been arranged to discuss the implications for animal movement and the measures appropriate to address the threat posed by the disease.

(end of statement)

Note: the statement contains an error. EP has been found in the United States, this year in Missouri and last year in Florida. EP is a highly-feared disease and is often the reason why horses from certain Mediterranean countries cannot be directly imported into other countries. EP is also a deciding factor is where major competitions are held, since many people fear that an outbreak would possibly strand horses in a country for quarantine reasons, or infect them directly.

EP in Ireland is particularly chilling because the island nation is a huge exporter of horses. Flat and jump racing horses from Ireland routinely get on ferries and travel to England, Scotland or even France to race, especially during the winter months, and foxhunting in Ireland is a tourist season in and of itself. The most high-profile Thoroughbred trainer in Europe, Aidan O'Brien, is headquartered at Ballydoyle near Tipperary and travels from there to race all over the world.

As the world shrinks, equine diseases are becoming global, not local. EP in Ireland? A sign of the times, and not a good one.

An Embargo on Breeding? Tough Talk in Ireland on Tackling Equine Overpopulation Problem

Billy Twomey and Je T'Aime Flamenco in the Aga Khan Cup yesterday in Dublin (Horse Sport Ireland photo)

What's wrong with this picture? One of the world's great horse events is going on right now. In Ireland, the Royal Dublin Horse Show is hosting not only the greatest show jumpers in the world, but dozens of classes for more than a thousand local horses, riders and hunts, and $1 Million in prize money.

Flowers bloom, immaculately-turned out children sit on perfect ponies. It is the great showcase of Irish horse civilization. Cleaned up, brushed off, and well, yes, he is for sale...

How big is this show? The class results are published in the newspapers just as we would read the football scores.

But this year, there's a cloud over the sun that shines on Dublin. I've just read the address by Jimmy Cahill, director of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He has warned of an unprecedented crisis in abandoned and underfed horses in Ireland, with a much worse toll to be taken as winter approaches.

Reading his words echoes all we here in America are dealing with: overcrowded rescue farms, underfunded charities, poor hay crops, and an overabundance of young horses that don't seem to be finding their way to training and good homes.

“The Dublin SPCA has rescued over 100 horses so far this year in Dublin alone,” Mr Cahill said. ”Thirty-one have had to be euthanized as they were beyond saving and the situation is set to deteriorate in the coming months."

Cahill blames the "Celtic Tiger" boom years of prosperity in Ireland, when everyone could afford a horse, or thought they could. And everyone with a mare bred her.

But while in America we debate about horse slaughter as an answer (what was the question again?), in Ireland Cahill simply and eloquently has called on equine welfare and sport agencies to support him in an outright embargo on horse breeding.

That's right. Just turn off the tap. Stop adding horses to the bloated population. Stabilize what's already on the ground.

“It is imperative that no more horses are bred in this country until all of those currently in existence have been rescued and rehomed," he said.

“Until we as a nation can take responsibility for the animals in suffering around the country, we should not be allowing for further unlicensed breeding,” Cahill concluded. He also mentioned Ireland's excellent reputation in the world for its standard of equine care and welfare, and the need to preserve the high regard in which Irish horses and horsemanship are held.