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Polish stud farm under probe over Arabian mare deaths

Xinhua, April 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Polish Minister of Agriculture, Krzysztof Jurgiel announced on Tuesday that a special horse breeding council will be established following the recent death of two prized Arabian mare at the renowned Janow Podlaski stud.

Jurgiel did not however confirm whether the recently appointed chairman of the stud, Marek Skomorowski, would leave his post. Earlier this month, he demanded that the management of the stud be changed.

Lublin Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case of deceased Amra, the third Arabian mare, which died from an intestinal disorder since October. Jurgiel said he suspects foul play.

Local media reported that traces of antibiotic deadly for horses have supposedly been found in the horse feed.

The latest death occurred on April 2, following the one on March 16. The stud's most precious mare, Pianissima, died in October 2015. Both the recently deceased mares were on lease from the stud owned by Shirley Watts, the wife of Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts. She has already announced her decision to have her remaining two horses removed from the Janow stud.

In February 2016, the stud's long-time manager, Marek Trela, was unexpectedly fired by the country's new agriculture authorities over allegations of mismanagement and over the death of Pianissima. The government also fired Jerzy Bialobok, a respected breeding specialist and director of Michalow state stud.

According to the Polish media, these decisions incited criticism and sparked protests, both in Poland and abroad. Hundreds of Polish Arabian horse supporters signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of three leading figures in Poland's State breeding industry. Foreign horse-breed professionals, such as Qatari breeder, Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani also expressed lack of understanding for dismissing Poland's best experts on this matter.

The Arabian horses came to Poland between 16th and 17th century. They are valued for their speed, endurance and elegance. The 200-year state-owned stud in Janow Podlaski holds an auction every August that attracts horse lovers worldwide. During the 2015 year "Pride of Poland" auction, a broodmare Pepita, fetched 1.4 milion euros. Endit