New research shows that many Australian livestock producers don't fully understand the risk of disease entering their farms on people, vehicles and equipment, with the majority not recording movements on their farm.
Research findings released today by Animal Health Australia showed that despite almost three in four livestock producers feeling that they have an understanding of biosecurity risks, only one in four keeps a record of visitors to their farm.
Manager Disease Risk Mitigation Duncan Rowland said many producers don't fully understand why the information is necessary.
"In the last year we've seen people, vehicles and equipment implicated in the spread of serious livestock diseases, both in Australia and overseas, such as equine influenza in Australia and foot and mouth disease and avian influenza in the UK," Mr Rowland said.
"If there happens to be a disease outbreak in your area or on your farm, one of the first questions asked will be who has visited in recent days."
"This information is absolutely vital for tracking where a disease might be spreading so as to restrict it as quickly as possible. This becomes even more important if it is a disease that can be transmitted to humans." Mr Rowland said.
"When producers don't keep visitor records, disease tracking becomes dependent on shaky memories."
Mr Rowland said that while the research showed many producers were changing their practices, with more than a third of livestock producers improving their farm biosecurity since the EI outbreak, producers were not adopting some of the most simple tools.
"Our research shows that producers want biosecurity measures that were simple and affordable - keeping track of visitors is both," he said.
In light of the finding, Animal Health Australia has made a visitor log available for immediate download on its new website, www.farmbiosecurity.com.au.
"This website is aimed at encouraging producers to look at their operations, identify the biosecurity gaps, and develop simple ways to reduce the risk," Mr Rowland said.
"Of course, any producer noticing unexpected or unusual signs of disease, abnormal behaviour or unexpected deaths in their stock should immediately call a vet or contact the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888."
Animal Health Australia (AHA) is a not-for-profit public company established by the Australian Government, state and territory governments and major national livestock industry organisations. The company manages national animal health programs on behalf of its members.
Audio grabs are available from the News section of the Farm Biosecurity website www.farmbiosecurity.com.au.
For further information, please contact Margaret Stuart on 0407 411 174.
Clip 1 (78 KB)
For the past 12 months we've seen people, vehicles and equipment being implicated in the spread of disease throughout the world. We've seen it with equine influenza in Australia, we've also seen it with foot and mouth disease and avian influenza in the UK.
Clip 2 (140 KB)
If there happens to be a disease outbreak in your area or on your farm, the first thing that government officials are going to ask is 'who has been on your property'. This information is really vital when trying to track the spread of a disease, especially where it's coming from, or where it's going to, and to be able to trace the movement of people is vitally important, especially when it comes from those diseases that affect humans.
Clip 3 (102 KB)
If there's a disease outbreak, visitor records become a vital tool in the tracing of people on and off the property. It gives us the ability to trace ahead of the disease because we know the disease will not show up for a few days in the livestock, and it provides us with a cheap and simple way to protect our farms.
Clip 4 (161 KB)
While implementing anything that's new there's always going to be some animosity towards it. but as it becomes a continual part of the day to day operations of a business it gets fixed in, and people accept it for what it is. This is a very simple thing to do; The record sheet should be put somewhere in an obvious spot so people can sign it, and being polite and being friendly about the issue will always assist matters. It's rare that you'll actually find someone that will object to it because all you're doing is actually trying to protect your business.
Clip 5 (85 KB)
The visitors can carry disease. You don't know where they've been, you don't know which animals they've been in contact with, where have their shoes and clothes been, what's on their vehicles, and where their equipment has been. It's important that livestock producers recognise these risks and do what's reasonable to protect their property and their livestock.