Page 5 - Australian Pork Newapaper

Is your farm feral pig proof?
DECENT fencing is a core element of biosecu- rity.
For farms designed from scratch, the fence around the farm buildings extends to the load-out ramp on the perimeter and includes the silos and staff ameni- ties building.
This means ‘clean’ farm areas are separated from ‘dirty’ non-farm areas.
In this sense, the fence keeps transporters, other vehicles, visitors and other pigs out.
The real risk to the ‘home’ pig population comes from feral pigs.
It has been estimated that there are as many as 24 million of them nation- ally and they are spread throughout the country.
Even if you have not seen them, they are prob- ably in your area.
They have, unfortunate- ly, at one time or another, breached the biosecurity of many large farming businesses.
For practical purposes, a fence that restricts animal movements to within 2m of your buildings should
be adequate.
If you can do more, ter-
rific, but what you are re- ally trying to prevent is nose-to-nose contact be- tween the farm pigs and any nearby feral pigs.
You will know that dis- ease can be transmitted several kilometres in the air but that’s with large populations of source ani- mals all in one spot.
For one or two (feral) animals, a metre or two is enough.
In addition to thinking about how far the fence is from the buildings, you will also need to think about maintenance to make sure there are no holes or gaps under the fence and gates.
A metre-high, well- maintained ring-lock fence will serve you well against feral pigs.
If you want to keep peo- ple out, something higher is necessary, but don’t overthink it –chances are, people can and will breach anything if they are deter- mined enough.
Your existing stock fenc- es will be a deterrent to
feral pigs and will add to any special barrier you erect.
Where feral pigs have penetrated farms, they have walked through open gates or doorways, crawled under gates or fences, and/ or walked right through fences.
They have been attracted to sows on heat as well as to spilled feed.
A recent ABC Land- line show (September 28) showed a NSW grain farm fenced with a pig-proof fence that was well-suited for the job.
They used a Waratah 15/150/15 Stocksafe-T Long Life Blue 250m with apron (about $1200 per roll plus GST – prices will vary).
You need to order it spe- cially.
That fence is 1.5m high and has an apron at the bottom.
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Protect your business from animal activists
AUSTRALIAN Pork Limited has been busy advocating for the safety and privacy of producers in recent months.
The Aussie Farms Inc website, which identified the location and addresses of hundreds of producers, was released and promot- ed earlier this year accom- panied by edited pictures and videos.
Some of this footage is of family homes.
APL made it clear to multiple parliamentary in- quiries that stronger laws were needed to protect primary producers from interference and disrup- tion.
In response, the Com- monwealth Parliament has passed laws making it an offence to use a carriage service to incite trespass.
This means those who encourage or ask others to trespass on your property using a computer or mo- bile phone may be guilty of an offence.
If you, or anyone on your property feels unsafe or threatened by the ac- tions of animal activists, contact the police.
Additionally, the Com- monwealth Attorney-
www.porknews.com.au
General has listed Aussie Farms Inc under Fed- eral Privacy Legislation, meaning the Australian Privacy Principles now apply to Aussie Farms.
This is normally re- served for businesses with a turnover of more than $3 million.
The Office of the Aus- tralian Information Com- missioner has invited indi- viduals who believe their personal information has been breached to make a complaint.
This can be done by lodging a Privacy Com- plaint Form at oaic.gov. au/about-us/contact-us
Whether your property is family owned or part of a larger organisation, you may still have had identifiable personal in- formation included on the Aussie Farms Inc map, and thus entitled to make a complaint.
APL cannot make a complaint on behalf of an individual.
For any further infor- mation about the recent changes, please contact Alister Oulton on alister. oulton@australianpork. com.au or 0427 423 869.
Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2019 – Page 5