HORSES are regularly dying on the Gold Coast because of the influence of the powerful anti-vaccine movement ­stopping owners from protecting their animals against the Hendra virus.

High-profile equine vet Charlie McCormack said a third of the horses on the Gold Coast were not vaccinated against the deadly virus despite the city being located in a Hendra hot spot.

Mr McCormack said when animals which were not vaccinated got sick, vets refused treatment because of the risk to themselves, their staff and families.

“Hendra is front of mind for us all the time,” he said.

$2.7m CONCRETE CANCER BILL FOR HIGH RISE

WATCH: INSIDE THE CANDYMAN MANSION

“If my phone rings in the middle of the night with someone asking me to come out and treat a sick horse that has not been vaccinated, my family asks me not to go.

“Horses are dying unnecessarily because vets don’t want to treat them unless they have tested negative for Hendra first.

“I have 16 people working for me and we have to take precautions.”

A series of social media groups have been set up to oppose Hendra vaccination, including “Say No To Hendra” which has more than 4000 followers on Facebook.

Mr McCormack said it was frustrating horse owners believed incorrect information circulating on social media about the vaccine, instead of listening to experts.

“Some people think there are legitimate concerns,” he said.

“But what is being passed along on the grapevine is wrong.”

media_camera Jodie Alderton with her pony Nico at Nerang.

Hendra survivor and vet nurse Natalie Beohm still feels the effects of the disease she caught from an infected horse seven years ago, when she was just 21, every day.

“I wouldn’t have got through it if I was not so strong,” said Mr Beohm, who is one of only a handful of people in Australia who has contracted the disease and lived.

“But I still have to battle fatigue and that will never go away.

“I run on (legal) amphetamines.

“And it impacted on my hearing as well.”

Ms Beohm, who lives in the Logan area, urged those who were choosing not to vaccinate their horses to find out more about the disease and the vaccine.

“There is a lot of misinformation about the Hendra vaccine,” she said.

“People take a bit of information from here and there and then pass it on.

“But the reality is that Hendra is a deadly virus.

“If there is an outbreak at an event at some point, it will be catastrophic.”

Gold Coast horse owner Jodie Alderton has vaccinated half of her horses for Hendra but says confusion about the vaccine and the associated expense had stopped her from paying for all 10 to be safeguarded.

“Those horses that come into contact with the public are vaccinated,” said the founder of Healing Hooves.

“But I have four more older horses out in the Numinbah Valley that are not vaccinated.

“I follow the Say No To Hendra group on Facebook and that does play on my mind, I admit.

“But it is also the expense.

“Each horse costs $240 to vaccinate and if you have 10, that is a big bill.”

A Hendra information session has been organised for the Gold Coast Turf Club tomorrow night from 7.

Mr McCormack encouraged those who were against the vaccine to come along and find out more.