Why cannot horse owners just get their own vaccines that way?
It remains illegal to import vaccines when such products are not approved for use in Australia. Anybody caught importing vaccines illegally would be subject to serious statutory penalties including fines and imprisonment. There might be some cost involved in vaccinating against Equine Influenza. If owners can afford the extra costs, why should they not be able to vaccinate their horses if they want? Any decisions about vaccination for Equine Influenza must be made in the best interests of disease control and eradication in the national horse herd. Thus what is best for the entire horse herd and their owners is what is paramount. It would be inappropriate for individual horse owners to be acting independently of any moves or decisions taken in the interests of the national horse herd. It is inevitable that Equine Influenza will be introduced into Australia at some stage. Vaccination would prevent any disruption to the horse industry. This is not the case. Australia has successfully prev
