The go ahead has been given for a genetically modified virus to be used for the first time in New Zealand.
Equine influenza almost brought the Australian racing industry to a standstill last year. That led the New Zealand racing board to push to have improved vaccines available here and now they have that right.
"We made our case and it's been heard, and we're delighted that the points we made have been received positively," says Graeme Hansen, CEO New Zealand Racing Board.
Two vaccines using genetically-modified canary pox virus will be the first GM organisms on commercial sale in New Zealand.
Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) says the positive effects outweigh any negative.
"You've got a number of benefits to groomers to trainers. If an outbreak of the influenza were to happen their livelihood would be significantly affected," says Asela Attapatu, acting general manager new organisms ERMA.
There will be strict controls applied to the horse flu vaccine but anti-GE campaigners are worried as they believe it sets a dangerous precedent.
"What we are concerned about is horizontal gene transfer so out of the pees and poos of horses, that excrement, are they going into the ground? It could they get into the ground which is what we are concerned about," says Steffan Browning, anti-GE campaigner.
GE Free New Zealand president Claire Bleakley says if one of the stable hands had the flu and the horse did as well, we could have a mutation worse than SARS.
ERMA admits there is a potential risk but says it's highly improbable.
"Given the conditions these (the vaccines) are approved under and the remoteness of the likelihood of that event, it is considered to be a negligible risk," says Attapatu.
ERMA says the GM horse vaccine will be kept under lock and key and only used if Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and biosecurity officials give it the go-ahead.
