AUSTRALIA'S quarantine regulations are ''over the top'' and must be amended or the Melbourne Cup and the entire spring carnival faces a future with dwindling international interest, a senior racing official claimed yesterday, reports The Age.It says: Racing Victoria Ltd's racing operations manager Leigh Jordon said the stricter quarantine rules that were introduced following Australia's first equine influenza outbreak in 2007 threatened to diminish one of the world's great racing carnivals.''I h
AUSTRALIA'S quarantine regulations are ''over the top'' and must be amended or the Melbourne Cup and the entire spring carnival faces a future with dwindling international interest, a senior racing official claimed yesterday, reports The Age.
It says: Racing Victoria Ltd's racing operations manager Leigh Jordon said the stricter quarantine rules that were introduced following Australia's first equine influenza outbreak in 2007 threatened to diminish one of the world's great racing carnivals.
''I have written correspondence from a number of high-profile overseas stables voicing their frustration at the protocols,'' Jordon said. ''The protocols are most disruptive to their operations and make the job of readying a horse for Melbourne so much tougher. The government and AQIS [Australian Quarantine Inspection Service] are out of touch with the industry. They are too slow and have not shown any commitment to work through these problems."