Horse and Feed Industries Split on Levies

A battle is looming between the horse industry and the stock feed and animal health sectors over levies to prepare for emergency outbreaks of disease.

Groups representing equine organisations are keen for any levy to be imposed on horse owners indirectly, by being added to the cost of hard horse feed and wormers.
But stock feed manufacturers and animal health businesses are opposed to the idea, saying any levy should be collected directly from horse owners.

Australian Racing Board chief executive Andrew Harding says his organisation would support a levy on hard horse feed and wormers, though the thoroughbred industry would bear the greatest cost burden.

"It seems to us ... this is the best option," he told a Senate inquiry hearing in Canberra on Friday.

"We've spent 10 years trying to come to something that the whole of the (horse) industry agrees on and it seems we've arrived there."

But the Stock Feed Manufacturers Council of Australia and Animal Health Alliance disagree.

The association has told the inquiry that indirect collection through horse industry inputs would be highly inequitable.

"It would be anticompetitive as it is only applied against manufactured feeds and not feed ingredients competing with manufactured feeds," the association said in a submission to the inquiry.

It would prefer the levy be collected as part of annual membership or registration fees, or as part of charges for events such as races, shows and pony club days.
The manufacturers argue that horse feed is not a product of the horse industry and is unsuitable as a levy collection method.

The alliance says that horse wormers are unsuitable as a levy target.
The use of horse worming agents was wholly discretionary, it said.

The alliance has estimated that had wormers been levied to recover the costs of the 2007 outbreak of equine influenza, unit prices would have doubled.

Veterinary product manufacturers also have expressed concern, saying a levy on each wormer dose was likely to result in decreased treatment of horses.

Both the ARB and Thoroughbred Breeders Australia (TBA) say they will accept the greatest levy burden - up to 55 per cent - if every other equine organisation signs up to the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA).

"We're prepared to pay more than what might be, to most objective observers, fair," TBA chief executive officer Peter McGauran told the inquiry, adding thoroughbreds made up 11 per cent only on Australia's non-feral horse population.

Under EADRA the commonwealth will underwrite the response costs of emergency animal disease outbreak - such as equine influenza - enabling quick and effective action to be taken immediately.

After an emergency is over, EADRA provides a payback period of 10 years from the animal sector that has benefited.

It is estimated that a levy on hard horse feed would amount to about four cents per kilogram and 50 cents for each dose of wormer.

The levies would be triggered if and when an emergency response is required.
No money would be collected until an actual emergency occurred and levies would cease once the industry share had been repaid.

The Senate's rural affairs and transport references committee is scheduled to publish a report of its inquiry by next Thursday.

Story by: AAP