A recreational horse that had competed at the Burnie Show on the North-West Coast first tested positive to EI from analysis carried out at the Department of Primary Industry’s Mt Pleasant laboratory in Launceston.

However, samples sent to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory at Geelong in Victoria tested negative.

Despite the Geelong lab findings the Tasmanian DPI retained a statewide ban on horse movement which led to the postponement of the two race meetings (harness and thoroughbred) last Sunday and a harness meeting last night (Monday).

The DPI insisted it needed to keep the ban in force because it wanted to ensure that none of the other 74 horses that competed at the Burnie Show had signs of having EI.

Two other horses showed signs of having EI but their samples also tested negative when sent to the AAHL in Geelong.

While Tasmania remans EI free, standardbred horse owners and trainers, including Craig Hayes who trains one of last season’s top two-year-olds Mister Tehaych, are now lobbying the State Government to secure vaccine so that the Tasmanian horse population can become immunized against the disease.

But a problem exists with the live vaccine being used in NSW, Queensland and Victoria as it contains a genetically modified organism (GMO) that is banned in Tasmania.

There are other non-live vaccines available but from all reports they are nowhere near as effective as the live vaccine and require more frequent boosting.

The Tasmanian DPI needs to declare the racing industry in a state of emergency so that vaccine can be made available for use in Tasmania, as was the case in Victoria that also is EI free but ventured down the state of emergency path to secure the vaccine that it hopes will protect its Spring Racing Carnival.

Meetings between the State Government and Tasmania’s racing officials this week are hoped to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile the postponed harness meetings scheduled for Launceston last Sunday night and Hobart on Monday night have been rescheduled with the Launceston meeting reprogrammed for Tuesday in a twilight timeslot and the Hobart meeting is rescheduled for Wednesday with the first race set to start at 12-05pm (Tasmanian time).