Death of 3 horses from suspected Salmonella triggers Miami Quarantine Center closure

The deaths of three horses from an outbreak suspected to be solmonella at the Miami Animal Import Center has led to the closure of the Florida quarantine facility for as long as 2 1/2 months during the peak of the world’s largest winter show circuit.

The closure was ordered by U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin Saturday to conduct what it described as “environmental testing” and to perform a complete cleaning and disinfection of the facility, one of two import centers on the United States East Coast, and that will last as long as Mar. 31. The other East Coast center is in New York.

Many of the Miami facility’s 95 horse stalls were closed for up to three months until late November because of delays in replacing flooring, that forced large numbers of imported horses to be rerouted through New York and Chicago then trucked more than 1,300 miles/2,100km to Wellington.

An estimated 15,000 horses from around the world congregate in Wellington for the winter circuit of 12 weeks of shows at the Global Dressage and Winter Equestrian Festivals, the Palm Beach Masters and smaller events as well as 16 weeks of polo.

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Article written by: KENNETH J. BRADDICK