Notice to Industry 15: Pregnancy status of mares/jennies at the time of export to Australia

Last updated 4 March 2024

​Download

Introduction

The Australian import conditions related to the pregnancy status of horses, donkeys and mules are as follows:

• For horses imported from the northern hemisphere and by sea from New Caledonia:
  1. The said horse is not pregnant; or
  2. The said horse is less than 7 months pregnant

This import condition is met if the last date of service of the mare or jenny is not more than 7 months (211 days) before the date of export.

• For horses imported from New Zealand:

  1. In the case of a mare, the horse(s) is not more than three hundred (300) days pregnant at the time of export.

  This import condition is met if the last date of service of the mare or jenny is not more than 300 days before the date of export.

Policy

Pregnancy import conditions for horses, mules and donkeys from the Northern Hemisphere and by sea from New Caledonia have been determined by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) to uphold animal welfare and take into consideration the increased risk of abortion caused by extended travel time to Australia.

Studies on the transport of in-foal mares have demonstrated increased concentrations of cortisol. A mare that aborts a foal during transport to Australia or during post-arrival quarantine (PAQ) represents a high biosecurity risk. There are several diseases of biosecurity concern associated with abortion in horses, including equine herpes virus 1, equine viral arteritis, equine piroplasmosis and equine infectious anaemia. If a mare or jenny were to abort during transport or PAQ, the foetus, foetal membranes and mare or jenny would need to undergo testing to rule out exotic diseases as the cause of the abortion. The mare or jenny and any in contact horses would require isolation and additional biosecurity measures during PAQ.

Pregnancy import conditions for horses from New Zealand are consistent with the World Organisation for Animal Health Terrestrial Animal Health Code (Chapter 7.4 Transport of animals by air) and the International Air Transport Association Live Animal Regulations.

The department will not grant variations to transport mares or jennies that are greater than:

• 211 days pregnant on the date of export if they are being exported from:

  1. the Northern Hemisphere; or
  2. New Caledonia by sea.

  or

• 300 days pregnant on the date of export if they are being exported from New Zealand.

Version history

The following table details the published date and amendment details for this document.