Huge breakthrough as Irish government confirms permission to import Arvac for 2025 breeding season

The Irish government this evening confirmed it has been given permission to import Arvac ahead of the 2025 breeding season, in a statement from the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders Associations (EFTBA).

Further details, as well as the protocols, timelines and conditions for the use of Arvac will be announced tomorrow (Tuesday) by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), but the EFTBA believes the news sets a precedent that Major -Britain and the EU member states can follow suit.

With the continued unavailability of Arvac, the only inactivated Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) vaccine licensed for use in the European Union, the EFTBA and Member States including Ireland, France and Germany had lobbied hard for permission to import Arvac from the European Union. United States.

On Monday evening, the DAFM indicated that these efforts were successful.

EFTBA Chairman Joe Hernon said: “This is a clear illustration of the importance of the EFTBA and its ability to lobby at EU and national level on behalf of our industry.”

EVA is a notifiable disease in the Republic of Ireland that can cause pregnancy loss in mares and infertility in stallions. Without a vaccine, the thoroughbred racing and breeding industries faced an existential threat.

This seems to have been averted with this development.

This story will be updated with further developments.

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