I am writing this editorial in a time of significant change in the world. I find it difficult to believe, understand or rationalise the fact that in the modern era, a civilised country can invade a neighbouring sovereign country, no matter what their history may be.
We then find ourselves in a position where, as a nation, it is difficult to act in fear of either a disproportionate response from what seems to be an irrational dictator rather than a respected leader, or in fear of making matters worse. As a nation, we offer our support through application of economic sanctions and words of condemnation, but our thoughts are with all in Ukraine whose lives will likely be forever changed. We hope this act of aggression against them draws to a close as soon as possible, to minimise the unnecessary loss of life. It seems necesssary to acknowledge that our issues are so small in comparison, yet this also reminds us that we in the UK still have the same values as our European neighbours, friends and allies, and we must continue to work together in support of common interests.
Setting these thoughts aside for a moment, there is new landscape ahead for us. With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now operating in a time with diminishing restrictions and life is likely to become less complicated. However, we will need to start living with an ever-present threat of endemic infectious disease and we will likely need to have plans and contingencies of our own, to protect the vulnerable, friends, families and colleagues. We do this regularly in our professional lives, by planning to prevent and deal with the consequences of infectious viral diseases such as equine influenza and herpesviruses, as well as bacterial diseases such as Streptococcus equi var. equi (strangles). My personal background often involves consideration of infectious diseases with a reproductive component, such as contagious equine metritis and equine viral arteritis. While there is a risk of horses already residing in the UK of carrying a disease with recrudescence or shedding, becoming a new ‘index case’, there is also a risk of bringing disease in over our borders in live horses or germplasm. At present, ‘registered horses’ coming into the UK are not required to have any vaccinations nor any screening for infectious disease, so we as a profession need to have a strategy in place to minimise the risks associated with this. If no statutory requirements are in existence, it will be up to us to make recommendations to our clients to maintain the health of the UK equine population. Pre- and post-movement disease screening, vaccination, isolation will be the cornerstone of any strategy.
From 1st July 2022, all imports of live horses (and germplasm) will need to go through a border control post (BCP) for documentation, identity and physical checks before it can reach its final destination. BCPs will be located at docks and airports, but it is not known how long it will take for shipments to transit the BCP or, if we will be able to collect the shipments directly from the BCP. It has been suggested that the number of physical and identity checks carried out will depend on biosecurity and public health risks. It is likely that horse checks will be paperwork orientated at first, but we all know this could cause delays. With some of these issues in mind we have asked Gary Kelly to contribute a piece to this issue on breeding with frozen semen, as it is likely that chilled semen from the EU may be more difficult to acquire on time and we may be asked to make the switch to frozen semen more regularly. Andrew Waller has also contributed a piece describing the journey to the production of a vaccine for strangles. Other contributions to this issue include an interesting mix of varied material, with contributions on the approach to clinical nutrition, approaching the future management of sweet itch, caring for the geriatric donkey with dental disease and developmental behaviour of foals in the first 3 months of life.
As a nation and a profession, our thoughts remain with the people of Ukraine.