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Legal action against a Tasmanian ferry owner over the deaths of 16 prized polo ponies should not prevent the equine industry from having confidence in the TT-Line, a horse transporter says.
Hayley Sheehan of the Latrobe-based Tasmanian Horse Transport is calling for calm after the ponies’ owner started legal action to sue Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line for negligence over the deaths in January.
The ponies died on a horse float which had been driven by the former captain of the Australian polo team and national polo identity Andrew Williams, and was crossing Bass Strait after competing at Tasmania’s premier polo event at Barnbougle, in the state’s north-east.
Mr Williams lodged the writ against TT-Line Company and logistics company QUBE Holdings Limited in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday.
The civil claim, seen by the ABC, alleges the ponies died between the time they boarded the ferry at Devonport for the 7:30pm departure to Melbourne and about 2:00am.
Ms Sheehan said her inbox had been flooded with emails from concerned clients after news about the court action broke.
“As soon as somebody is suing somebody the general public straight away think the person being sued is in the wrong,” she said.
“I think that is not always the case.”
“My full support is with the Spirit of Tasmania. We have been crossing Bass Strait for many years with no issue.
“Nothing has changed on our part. We are still shipping horses, the Spirit is still providing the same service they’ve always provided, which is the best shipping service across Bass Strait for livestock.”
Ms Sheehan said she was concerned for organisers of coming Tasmanian events such as the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, which will be held in October.
“It is unfair for those people that are putting on those events and the other competitors to be unsure of whether crossing Bass Strait is safe,” she said.
“Everyone is second guessing: ‘Is it safe? Is it not safe?’ That is why we pushed back in February for the [Department of Primary Industries] on the public record and defend the Spirit.”
Lack of information leads to speculation
Senior equine veterinarian Michael Morris said he was concerned there was still little public information about what happened to the horses.
“It is highly concerning because everybody, myself included, is just speculating about whether it is safe or not to take horses across there,” he said.
“The horse-owning public deserve to know what happened.
“The longer the court case drags on, then in all likelihood we won’t hear from anyone whether it is in fact safe to take horses on [the Spirit of Tasmania].”
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) will not release the autopsy report into the deaths because it is part of an ongoing investigation.
Greens pressure ministers
In Parliament, Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O’Connor accused Primary Industries Minister Sarah Courtney of repeatedly refusing to respond meaningfully to questions about why the investigation was taking so long.
“Tasmanians who care about animal welfare want to know what happened onboard the Spirit that resulted in the deaths of these beautiful animals,” Ms O’Connor said.
Ms Courtney repeatedly refused to put a deadline on completing the investigation.
“I think many of us have participated in events where we see beautiful horses and animals, many of us around the chamber have participated in the Barnbougle event, so I do understand the emotive nature of it,” she said.
“This is a complex matter across three jurisdictions and it’s essential that this investigation occurs in an independent way and in an unbiased manner, so creating artificial deadlines is not appropriate.
“The investigation must be allowed to run its course, and information will only be released when it its appropriate to do so, in line with confidentiality and legal requirements.”
The Minister responsible for the TT-Line, Jeremy Rockliff, was asked by Ms O’Connor if he could guarantee the public the ferry service had taken the necessary steps to ensure animals would not die during transit.
“The deaths of these ponies is nothing but tragic and this will have a significant impact on all Tasmanians, but it is the subject of ongoing investigations and it is not appropriate to comment about these matters at this time,” he responded.
A spokesman for TT-Line said he only learned about the court action when the ABC contacted the company for comment last night.
Topics: animal-welfare, livestock, transport, government-and-politics, tas
