Ministry vets deny responsibility for colt’s death

Press, 23 February 1984, Page 20

Ministry vets deny responsibility for colt’s death

PA Auckland Ministry of Agriculture veterinians say they are not to blame for the death of a valuable horse at Auckland International Airport. The regional veterinary officer for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Dick Martinovich, said yesterday that post-mortem examination revealed no evidence that the death of the $llO,OOO colt was caused by dehydration. But he did not say what had caused the colt's death. The National Bloodstock Corporation, owner? of the colt and other horses on the 40-hour flight from Canada, blamed Ministry officials for its death. A director of National Bloodstock, Mr David Phillips, said his veterinarians were refused permission to enter the quarantine area at the airport to give the horses a saline drench on their arrival on Tuesday.

“If our vets had been allowed to attend to the horses, that colt might have been alive today,” he said. Mr Martinovich said yesterday that the Ministry’s veterinarian on duty w-as responsible for the care of the horses, which were imported under quarantine conditions.

The officer had to determine who might enter the quarantine area.

“Prior to the horses being unloaded," said Mr Martinovich, “someone connected with the horse's owners had gained unauthorised entry to the quarantine enclosure and when challenged said they had come to inject the horses with saline solution and were told not to undertake the treatment.” Mr Martinovich said the Ministry’s vet had with him a specialist equine veterinarian employed by Wrightson’s, the agent for the owners of the horses, and available to undertake any necessary treatment. The animal which died — a standardbred by the American pacer Niatross — was “very young” and appeared to be in normal condition when unloaded from the aircraft, said Mr Martinovich. “It became excitable when put on the float, it went down and struggled violently, apparently injuring itself, and died shortly afterwards.” Mr Martinovich said the animals had been, watered at Honolulu — where the aircraft was delayed for 17 hours — and watered again at Nandi, a few hours before their arrival in Auckland. No specific diagnosis had been made at the postmortem examination but there was no indication of dehydration, he said.