Page 7 - Australian Pork Newspaper

ASF response a biosecurity shield
THE Australian Gov- ernment’s $66.6 mil- lion African swine fever response package has strengthened Aus- tralia’s biosecurity measures and ensured our system remains a world-class defence.
“With its rapid spread through Asia and new variants being dis- covered, the disease is threatening the liveli- hoods of millions of people globally who rely on the pork industry.
tralia and reinforced our national preparedness.
nationally coordinated management and control of feral pigs.
Minister for Agricul- ture and Northern Aus- tralia David Littleproud said the 2019 package put more biosecurity of- ficers and detector dogs on the ground and en- hanced measures in the battle to keep ASF out of Australia.
“That is why in De- cember 2019 the Aus- tralian Government announced its ASF re- sponse package to ad- dress the risk to Aus- tralia caused by the global spread of the disease.
“Our $400 million in- vestment in biosecurity in the 2021-22 budget continues our commit- ment to help protect Australia from the on- going and evolving threat of ASF and other significant threats.
In a recent thermal- assisted aerial control trial, thermal cameras detected 99 percent of the 126 feral pigs killed, compared to 1 percent that were visible to the human eye.
“ASF would have a sig- nificant impact on pig health and production, as well as wider economic impact through loss of access to overseas mar- kets for our pork prod- ucts if it were to reach our shores,” Minister Littleproud said.
“Since then, we have successfully strength- ened Australia’s border control measures and increased targeted op- erations to detect non- compliance.”
“Feral pigs are a major environmental and agri- cultural pest and would be an impediment to eradication of ASF if it were to arrive in Aus- tralia – as a result, the Australian Government is supporting a range of feral pig control meas- ures,” Minister Little- proud said.
“Through the Com- munities Combating Pest and Weed Im- pacts During Drought Program, we delivered more than $2.6 million to eight eligible drought- affected local govern- ment areas in Queens- land and NSW for on- ground management of feral pigs, among other priority pest animals and weeds,” Minister Littleproud said.
“We have also raised awareness of our bios- ecurity requirements to those travelling or mailing goods to Aus-
Appointment of a na- tional feral pig man- agement coordinator and development of a national feral pig ac- tion plan is facilitating
“Building on this work, our commitments in the 2021-22 budget will con- tinue our efforts to re- duce the economic and environmental burden of established feral animals and weeds.
“We remain committed to keeping ASF out of Australia and protecting local pork industries and international ex- ports, while supporting land managers to better manage the impacts of feral pigs.”
For further informa- tion on our efforts to keep ASF out of Aus- tralia, visit agriculture. gov.au/pests-diseases- weeds/animal/asf and on the national feral pig ac- tion plan, visit feralpigs. com.au
Australia Pork Limited and NSW Department of Primary Industry have developed new resources including an eight-point checklist to make it easy for producers to make practical changes to their biosecurity.
Biosecurity preparedness ramps up on farm
General Manager – Research & Innovation
AFRICAN swine fever preparedness on farm has been a critical pri- ority for the ASF tech- nical panel and liaison officers over the past three months.
Ensuring the message reaches all producers no matter the size is vital to protecting our industry.
This is why Australia Pork Limited and NSW Department of Primary Industry have developed new resources including an eight-point checklist to make it easy for pro- ducers to make practical changes to their biosecu- rity.
ards being auditable from September 2021.
APL emergency animal disease biosecurity com- mittee has been set up to work alongside the APL industry technical panel.
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, August 2021 – Page 7
Now is the time to en- sure property, staff and vets are prepared for an inspection with the new Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance Pro- gram biosecurity stand-
For assistance, search ‘biosecurity’ on the APL website for resources, or contact APL APIQ lead Bjorn Ludvigsen at bjorn. ludvigsen@australian pork.com.au
by ROB SMITS
Documented evidence of biosecurity plans will be requested.
The group draws to- gether information from policy, research, producer relations and communi- cations to share unani- mously with industry, government and stake- holders.
As well as this, a new
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