Why BTC Needs a Regulatory Vet, Not Excuses

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

The glanders shutdown has laid bare a fatal governance gap at the Bangalore Turf Club. What should have been a tightly regulated biosecurity response degenerated into delay, discretion and internal confusion. At the centre of the mess is the absence of an independent Regulatory Veterinary Officer. This crisis is not a medical accident but an administrative failure, made worse by entrenched interests, a toxic work culture and resistance to oversight.

 

Had a regulatory vet been in place, this situation would not have spiralled. Suspicion of a notifiable, zoonotic disease would have automatically triggered mandatory protocols. There would have been no scope for individual discretion, delayed judgment calls or internal debate masquerading as caution. Regulation would have trumped opinion.

 

Instead, the system relied on a Chief Veterinary Officer who combined the roles of treating vet and certifying authority, a conflict that invites paralysis. Despite the problem surfacing well before December, no emergency review was convened. The first Veterinary Sub-Committee meeting was held only on December 2, and even then, testing had to be insisted upon. Until that point, decisions were taken unilaterally, without involving the full veterinary team or exercising the sweeping powers already available to contain the threat.

 

The wider damage is visible. Racing has ground to a halt, livelihoods have been affected, and confidence has drained away. This cannot be brushed aside with post-facto claims of early suspicion or moral victories.

 

Equally worrying is the internal environment. Thirteen veterinarians have quit under the present Chief Vet’s watch, a statistic that speaks louder than any press note. A toxic atmosphere has replaced professional collaboration. An earlier committee had recognised this rot and sought to introduce a Regulatory Vet, only for the move to be scuttled by a lobby protecting the status quo. That lobby includes a handful of trainers and committee members, aided by the patronage of a now-deposed chairman whose errands were dutifully run last year.

 

This episode is not about hindsight. It is about governance. Racing cannot be run on personalities, loyalties and private calls. It needs systems, checks and independent authority. Until a Regulatory Vet is appointed, the sport will remain one outbreak away from another shutdown.

 

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