Page 6 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Will your business survive a disease outbreak?
WITH African swine fe- ver continuing its spread across South-East Asia, some producers are asking Australian Pork Limited what they need to do to prepare for an outbreak here, what will happen to their business during an outbreak and how long before markets might reopen if ASF en- ters into Australia.
Key questions producers need to consider are:
• Can your business sur- vive overnight closure of international markets and potential loss of business agreements?
• Are you prepared in the event of movement restrictions on livestock,
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products, feed supplies, people and equipment?
• Do you have contin- gency plans for the build- up of pig numbers (and product in some cases) on farm, which could lead to
feed shortages?
• Have you considered
the time, equipment and other resources required to implement disease control activities on your farm?
• Are you prepared for
media and public scru- tiny?
These questions are im- portant to consider for your farm’s preparedness activities for any disease outbreak.
Better preparation and planning may have re- duced the impact from the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak in the UK, which lasted for eight months, saw six million animals culled, cost eight billion pounds (or $A23 billion in 2018 dollars) and took 18 months fol- lowing eradication for trade to be re-established.
ASF is like a hunting mechanism for holes in biosecurity.
While not as contagious as some diseases like FMD, it is highly infec- tious and hard to kill.
Biosecurity remains the only prevention option – and culling is the only way to control the disease.
This must be followed by disposal of all infective material (carcasses, ma- nure, bedding) and decon- tamination of the entire piggery and surrounds.
While these actions are covered by cost sharing, what is not covered are consequential losses, such as loss of profit, use of assets, opportunity, good- will or contracts.
If an ASF or other dis- ease incursion occurs,
producers can expect the following to occur:
• International markets will close and remain closed until importing countries are completely confident that Australian product no longer poses any risk to their own agri- cultural industries. Mar- ket closures will affect the entire industry, not just those infected with, or close to the outbreak of, the disease.
• Immediate restric- tions will be placed on the movement of pigs to help control the outbreak and limit the spread of the disease. This could be days, weeks or longer de- pending on the outbreak. If animal welfare issues arise during this time, the Chief Veterinary Officer may order humane de- struction.
• A local, state or na- tional livestock standstill may occur – initially for 72 hours but perhaps longer. This will apply not just to pigs, but also to products, vehicles, equip- ment and other things. It will disrupt the normal flow of your business and may impact the purchase or sale of stock, feed and supplies. Animals in tran- sit, in saleyards, at field days and shows must be managed to avoid disease spread.
• There will be a backlog of product and there may be flow-on impacts from the domestic market due to food safety concerns.
• Business arrangements
such as supply contracts may require re-negotiation. • Disease control activi-
ties will be implemented by the authorities. This could include quarantine and movement restric- tions, vaccination (where this is an available op- tion), humane killing and disposal of animals and products, and cleaning and disinfection of prem- ises. These will have cost, emotional and other im- pacts on you, your family, employees and business.
• Biosecurity and sur- veillance will be en- hanced. New biosecurity measures may be intro- duced or existing meas- ures enhanced.
• Animals, people and things will need to be traced to identify proper- ties at risk. Reporting all pig movements to PigPass and retaining copies of the PigPass NVD will be critical to timely tracing.
• Depending on the dis- ease, large-scale vaccina- tion may occur. This will not be possible for ASF as no vaccine is available.
• Pigs and other assets may be compulsorily de- stroyed after valuation, with compensation paid (except consequential costs). This must be done in accordance with the agreed protocols, that is, individual producers can- not make this decision and do the valuation – it requires an authorised de- cision maker and valuer with decisions audited.
☛ continued P7
Figure 1
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Livestock, horse, poultry and beehive owners must be registered with Biosecurity Queensland
Check if you’re registered
qld.gov.au/BiosecurityRegistration Call 13 25 23
Your registration helps us keep you informed and quickly locate animals in a pest or disease emergency. A registration and renewal fee applies every three years for commercial primary producers.
Authorised by the Queensland Government, William Street, Brisbane
Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, April 2019
www.porknews.com.au
by DEB KERR General Manager Policy
8876 1E 02/19