Notice to Industry 4: Requirements for grooms at the Mickleham Post-Entry Quarantine Facility

The intended outcome of this document is for grooms to understand the biosecurity requirements and their obligations to comply when working with imported horses at the Mickleham Quarantine Facility (MQF).

To the extent that this document is inconsistent with any import permit, direction or authorisation to enter a quarantine facility, the terms and conditions of the import permit, direction or authorisation to enter a quarantine facility take precedence and will apply. Failure to comply with any condition of an import permit, direction or authorisation to enter a quarantine facility may constitute an offence.

Each year, hundreds of horses are imported into Australia. Each consignment may pose a biosecurity risk from equine diseases such as equine influenza (EI), equine viral arteritis, contagious equine metritis, piroplasmosis and surra. Additionally, the import of horses presents a plant biosecurity risk from weed seeds present in air stalls, equipment and animal faeces.

The import of horses is regulated by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department). The department has developed conditions for the import of horses to reduce the risk of diseases of biosecurity concern from entering Australia. Strict pre-export and post-arrival quarantine (PAQ) requirements apply to all imported horses (except those from New Zealand and New Caledonia). Strict requirements are also in place for people and goods in contact with imported horses.

The Biosecurity Act 2015 provides biosecurity officers with the authority to give decontamination directions to people if they are suspected to have been exposed to a disease of biosecurity concern to Australia.

All personnel are required to comply with the following general requirements:

• MQF is a non-smoking and drug and alcohol-free site. If alcohol or recreational drugs are found on site or personnel are suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs, they will be removed from MQF and further investigations conducted.
• Disorderly and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated. If such behaviour occurs, the offending party will be removed from MQF and further investigations conducted. CCTV is in operation 24 hours a day.
• All gates are to be kept closed and locked.
• Loss of keys or access cards, or damage to property must be reported to department officers immediately.
• Vehicles are to be parked in the designated car park spaces only.
• Driving speed limits must be obeyed.
• Grooms are responsible for maintaining cleanliness of the amenities within the horse compound. All garbage must be placed in the bins provided.
• Respect other people on site by keeping noise to a minimum and by leaving and entering the site quietly.

Note: The department will pursue individuals for costs where their negligent actions have resulted in damage or loss.

• Grooms may only enter the horse compound if they:
  • are essential to horse husbandry or biosecurity
  • have been nominated by the horse importer for the consignment
  • have completed all essential site and biosecurity training
  • have been authorised by the department
• Grooms are authorised by the department to enter the horse compound for a 12-month period after all relevant department and site-specific training has been completed.
• Grooms are issued with an access card by security on the first day of duty for the intake. This card may be retained by the groom but will only be activated for:
  • set-up of the compound;
  • the duration of each quarantine period; and
  • cleaning the compound after the horses have been released from biosecurity control.
• The compound entry and exit log must be completed in the presence of a biosecurity officer before entering and/or before leaving the horse compound.

All grooms attending the horse compound are required to:

• Take only essential personal effects into the horse compound. Most personal effects that enter the compound will need to remain in there until the horses are released from biosecurity control (e.g. air pods, drink bottles, asthma inhalers).
• Wear dedicated clothing including underwear, socks and footwear in the horse compound, which must remain in the compound until horses are released from biosecurity control.
• Undertake a complete head to toe, full body 3-minute shower before leaving the horse compound including washing hair, cleaning under fingernails and washing the access card with soap whilst in the shower.
• Change into clean clothing including underwear, socks and footwear immediately prior to leaving the horse compound.

Personal effects (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, paperwork, eyeglasses etc) at the corral or in the horse compound must either:

• Remain in the horse compound until horses have been released from biosecurity control, or
• Undergo disinfection by a biosecurity officer, prior to leaving the horse compound by wiping it with alcohol wipes or spraying with alcohol spray.
• Some items (eg. wedding bands, phones, eyeglasses) may be permitted to enter and leave if they can be adequately disinfected.
• Grooms are permitted to move from one horse compound to the other but must follow all personnel and equipment decontamination procedures when leaving each compound. Failure to follow decontamination procedures will be treated as a non-compliance.

Horse equipment and feed

• All horse equipment to be used during quarantine and must be new or cleaned and disinfected before entry to the facility.
• When directed by a biosecurity officer, grooms must clean biosecurity risk material from horse equipment imported with the horses. Equipment must be cleaned over a biosecurity bin, under the supervision of a biosecurity officer, with any material removed disposed of in a biosecurity bin.
• Feed imported with horses may only be used if it is accompanied by an import permit and appropriately treated prior to use. Feed arriving with the horses without a valid import permit must be disposed of in biosecurity waste bins on the day of arrival.

Protective vests

• Protective vests and helmets worn during the arrival and transportation/clearance of horses must be given to departmental personnel for decontamination prior to leaving the corral. Decontamination will include removal of any plant material and spraying with 70% ethanol.
  • If a groom attends multiple clearances of horses heading to the same horse compound, their vest may be held at the corral by the department between arrivals without decontamination in between.
  • Protective vests worn inside MQF after the arrival of horses, must stay in the facility until the horses are released from biosecurity control. Vests are not permitted to be moved between compounds at MQF.

• All relevant WH&S control measures must be followed and all WH&S incidents must be reported to the head groom and a biosecurity officer as soon as possible.
• Non-compliance in biosecurity procedures (by you or any other person) must be reported to the horse compound biosecurity officer or department veterinary officer as soon as possible.
• Mandatory PPE (protective vests, safety boots and helmets) must be worn at all times at Mickleham Quarantine Facility when handling horses, as per the ‘Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Policy for Horse Handling Activities at PEQ Mickleham.’
• Ensure that needles and syringes are not re-used, and needles remain capped when not in use. Dispose of all sharps in the designated containers within the horse compound.
• Follow all instructions and wear appropriate PPE when handling potentially hazardous equine medications such as ‘Ovumate’.
• Dispose of all faeces and stable waste produced in the first four days of PAQ in the marked biosecurity waste bins. Faeces and stable waste produced after 4 days must be placed in the non-biosecurity waste bins. This waste should be placed in the 240 litre, maroon bins, prior to being disposed of into the larger skip bins, using the bin lifter provided.
• Empty all drain sieves located in the stable block breezeway and horse wash bay into a biosecurity bin after horses have been released from biosecurity control. If drains require emptying during the intake, they must also be emptied into a biosecurity bin.
• Grooms must not use the horse walker within each compound unless they have been trained in its use by a biosecurity officer.
• Night grooms – when working alone at night after the biosecurity officer has left the compound, the security team will perform regular welfare checks via radio on grooms for safety. If grooms are required to enter stables to attend to the horses, they must advise the security team prior to entering, so their activity can be monitored for their own safety.

During PAQ the grooms’ responsibilities for horse husbandry and welfare are to:

• Make all reasonable efforts to ensure that horses are under control at all times.
• Provide appropriate feed, water, supervision and care to ensure the welfare of the horses held in PAQ, including:
  • supervising the horse at all times it is outside its stable, including when the horse is in an exercise area in the horse compound.
  • checking feed to ensure it is free from contamination
  • storing feed to prevent deterioration (e.g. in dry, rodent-proof bins)
  • ensuring horses can easily reach feed and water containers
  • ensuring clean water is available at regular intervals.
• Maintain the hygiene of the horse compound by:
  • providing appropriate, clean and sufficiently thick stable bedding
  • ensuring that soiled bedding and waste is disposed of in the designated bin/area
  • cleaning out horse yards of manure and excess feed and raking after each use
  • hosing, sponging or brushing horses when required to remove sweat, sand and dirt.
• Be aware of and observe all relevant animal welfare legislation

Monitoring horse body temperature

During PAQ, grooms are required to:

• Take and record each horse’s rectal temperature on arrival (if not already done by the private veterinarian) and then twice daily (at least 8 hours apart) for the remaining time in PAQ.
  • Departmental staff will supervise the taking and recording of rectal temperatures at least once per day for the first 4 days of PAQ, and randomly (unannounced) for the remainder of the time in PAQ.
• Ensure that thermometers are disinfected between horses.
• Notify the private veterinarian and horse compound biosecurity officer on duty as soon as possible if a rectal temperature is not able to be taken on any occasion during PAQ as additional examinations and testing may be required.
• Notify the private veterinarian and the horse compound biosecurity officer on duty as soon as possible if at any time the horse’s rectal temperature is 38.5°C or higher (39°C or higher for foals under 6 months of age). A schedule of additional examinations and/or nasopharyngeal swabs by the private veterinarian may be required.
  Timing of temperatures:
  • If the ‘on arrival’ temperature is taken before midday, a second reading is still required on that day but does not need to be 8 hours after the first.
  • If the ‘on arrival’ temperature is taken after midday, a second reading isn’t required that day.

General horse health monitoring and reporting

During PAQ grooms are required to:

• Observe and record each horse’s general health twice daily on the ‘Horse temperature and monitoring record’ form.
• Report any horse health abnormalities to the private veterinarian and the biosecurity officer on duty as soon as possible.
  • Abnormalities may include nasal discharge, eye discharge, coughing, reduced appetite, diarrhoea/loose stools, signs of colic, wounds, or sudden health or behaviour changes.
• Record daily updates on the horse’s condition for any horse that is unwell or injured. Once an unwell/injured horse is back to ‘normal’ (clinical signs have resolved), this must be recorded and daily updates may cease.
• Notify the horse compound biosecurity officer if a private veterinarian or farrier is required.
• Record any treatment and/or supplements given to a horse (including farrier work), as well as the reason for a treatment being given.
• The head groom may also provide additional detail about treatments and observations for injured/abnormal/unwell horses to Micklehamhorses@aff.gov.au and PEQVets@aff.gov.au.

Performing tick searches

During PAQ, grooms are required to:

• Carry out a thorough tick search on all horses in PAQ within 36 hours of the horses’ arrival, completing all relevant sections of the department checklist. This is an additional tick search to the tick search performed on arrival by the private veterinarian.
• Perform tick searches between 6:00am and 6:00pm.
• Advise the biosecurity officer of the plan for conducting tick searches, including commencement time for the first tick search for the day.
• Complete tick searches in accordance with the instructions on the department checklist.
• Ensure human safety always takes priority when performing tick searches. If it is not possible to perform a thorough tick search due to safety concerns, details of the issue must be recorded in the appropriate section of the checklist.
• Report if a tick or other ectoparasite is found on a horse to the biosecurity officer on duty and the private veterinarian immediately.
  • The tick or ectoparasite must be removed under the supervision of a biosecurity officer or departmental veterinary officer and kept secure (such as in a vial) for identification.
  • The horse must be moved to the wash bay area (or an area with a similar concrete surface) before attempting to remove the tick. This is to ensure that the tick can be found if it is dropped during removal. The horse must not be returned to its stall until the tick has been removed.
  • If a tick is found on a horse that has been turned out into a yard following arrival, notify a biosecurity officer so that the yard can be treated with a parasiticide as soon as possible
    Notes:
  • On the day following arrival, horses may be turned out into the sand yards before their tick search. Horses must not be turned out into the large grass paddock before their tick search.
  • Grooms will be approved to conduct unsupervised tick searches by a biosecurity officer after it has been determined that grooms are competent, thorough, and keep accurate records of each search. After approval, tick searches will be randomly supervised by a biosecurity officer, with at least 1 random supervised tick search per approved groom, every 6 months.
     

• Grooms may treat horses with oral non-prescription supplements as well as topical, non-prescription treatments used for minor skin abrasions/conditions without the treatment being prescribed by a veterinarian.

Examples of topical non-prescription treatments include but are not limited to:

• White Healer®
• Cetrigen®
• MTG®

Examples of oral non-prescription supplements include but are not limited to:

• Pro-Dosa Boost®
• Restore®
• Drink-up®
• Electromix®
• Electro Paste®
• Re-Lyte®
• Twydil®
   
• Grooms must not give any other treatment to a horse unless a private veterinarian has prescribed the treatment and directed a groom to administer it. This includes subcutaneous or intramuscular medications.

Intravenous (IV) injections administered by nominated grooms

• Grooms are not permitted to administer intravenous medications unless directed to do so by the private veterinarian in exceptional cases as detailed below.
• In exceptional cases where the private veterinarian is not present on site but considers that a horse requires urgent treatment, they may direct a nominated groom (who has been trained by the veterinarian and deemed competent in administering IV injections) to administer an IV injection to a horse.
• Examples of situations where this may apply include acute illness or injury e.g. colic, fractures.
• The following medications may be prepared for use in this way:
  • Flunixin
  • Phenylbutazone
  • Dexamethasone
  • Buscopan®
  • Dormosedan®
• To prepare for such situations, the private veterinarian must draw a single dose of the medication into a syringe at the start of each intake. The single dose must be clearly labelled as per the labelling requirements listed in NTI 5: Requirements for veterinarians at MQF for horses.
• Single doses must be kept locked in the stable block veterinary office dispensing cupboard or fridge and stored in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Medication that has not been labelled and prescribed for a specific intake by the private veterinarian must not be stored in the dispensing cupboard at any time. 
  Note: The head groom or compound biosecurity officer on duty can provide access to the dispensing cupboard when necessary.
• The private veterinarian must attend MQF as soon as practicable after an injection is administered to examine the horse and provide further treatment as necessary.

Important:

• A new direction must be given by the private veterinarian for each individual IV injection that a nominated groom is required to administer.
• The private veterinarian may only direct a nominated groom to administer an IV injection if they have first trained, observed and confirmed that the nominated groom is competent to perform the procedure under their direction.
• The private veterinarian must complete written advice for each nominated groom and submit to the department annually, to confirm that they are competent, prior to directing the nominated groom to administer any IV treatment.

Failure to follow these instructions, or specific directions by department staff, will result in removal from the facility and further investigations conducted. Additionally, failure to comply with the above conditions may constitute an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 or Biosecurity Act 2015 and penalties may apply.