A temporary restriction on importing horses into the territory has been imposed by the V.I. Department of Agriculture in response to an outbreak of contagious equine metritis in Puerto Rico, Commissioner of Agriculture, Louis E. Petersen, Jr. announced Monday night.
“Due to a confirmed case of contagious equine metritis diagnosed in a horse in Puerto Rico, horses from Puerto Rico or traveling through Puerto Rico will not be allowed entry into the U.S. Virgin Islands until further notice," Petersen said in the statement issued by Government House. "In addition, horses coming from Florida must now be tested for this disease. The USDA and Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture met with Dr. Bethany Bradford, Director of Veterinary Services, last week regarding this rare disease situation and we have jointly decided to make these necessary adjustments in the V.I. in order to protect the horse population in the territory.”
Contagious equine metritis, or CEM, is a disease of horses only and does not affect humans or other animals. CEM is very contagious and can cause infertility in horses.
Bradford reported that the USDA and Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture are investigating all the horses that have come in contact with the infected horse in Puerto Rico and in Florida, the origin of the infected horse. According to Bradford, preliminary reports indicate that U.S.V.I. horses recently imported from Puerto Rico have not been exposed to this infected horse.
“However, because most of our race horses come from Puerto Rico or Florida the U.S.V.I. must make changes to the import regulations to protect our local horse population until the investigation is completed," Bradford said. "This is why we have animal import rules in place and why we are committed to enforcing them.”
Petersen commended the work of the Division of Veterinary Services in regulating imported animals and enforcing the health and identification requirements of all animals entering the USVI.
“It is reassuring to know that we have the trained personnel in place to respond quickly and effectively to incidents of potential risk to our horse population,” the commissioner said.
Further information is available by contacting the Division of Veterinary Services at 1-340-778-0998, extension 241 and 252.
