AVA Submission on the Land Transport of Horses

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) thanks the QDAF Task Group for the opportunity to comment and provide input into the review of The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines - Land Transport of Livestock - Horses, last published in 2012. Under the current Queensland Animal Care and Protection Act Regulation 2012.horses are covered under section 33 of Schedule 3 but only as a subsection of the Code of practice for transport of livestock. These standards were developed over many years by a broad stakeholder group including government and the AVA and represented minimum standards, not optimal standards.

The AVA strongly supports the review of the current National Standards and Guidelines which was one of a number of key recommendations detailed in The Independent Inquiry Into Cruelty In The Management of Retired Racehorses (The Martin Inquiry) . The AVA advocates for a new set of National Standards and Guidelines to reflect contemporary best practice for transport of horses on both land and sea, and new compulsory Codes of Practice being developed in all Australian States.

Transport of horses by sea in Australia occurs across Bass Strait where horses are confined inside transport vehicles and loaded into a ship’s cargo hold. It is absolutely critical that adequate mechanical ventilation with fresh air and regular monitoring of horse welfare and temperature conditions occurs in these situations. The outcome of Court proceedings examining charges related to the death of 16 horses which occurred in 2018 is still ongoing. Specific new standards for sea transport may need to be developed for this type of transport pending the findings and outcome of proceedings.

Read the full submisson here.