Popular search terms
  • Biosecurity toolkit
  • Contact us
  • What is biosecurity?
  • Farm Biosecurity Program
  • Plant pest responses
  • Animal disease response
  • Farm profiler
  • Toolkit
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • About the Farm Biosecurity Program
    • Emergency animal disease responses
    • Emergency plant pest responses
  • Essentials
    • Farm inputs
    • Farm outputs
    • Ferals & weeds
      • Wild dog biosecurity
    • People, vehicles & equipment
    • Production practices
    • Train, plan & record
    • Videos
  • Toolkit
    • Gate sign
    • Create your own biosecurity kit
    • Declarations
    • Manuals
    • On-farm biosecurity planning
    • Records
  • Crops
    • Cotton
      • Cotton best management practice
      • Cotton product management
      • Cotton pests
    • Feed mills
    • Fruit & nuts
      • Fruit & nut pests
        • Apple and pear pests
        • Avocado pests
        • Banana pests
        • Cherry pests
        • Citrus pests
        • Mango pests
        • Nut pests
        • Papaya pests
        • Summerfruit pests
      • Fruit & nut product management
    • Grains
      • Grains pests
      • Grains product management
      • Grain storage options
    • Honey bees
      • BeeAware website and newsletter
      • Code of Practice and National Bee Biosecurity Program
      • Honey bee glossary
      • Honey bee product management
      • Honey bee pests
      • Honey bee best management practice
      • Beekeeper advisory – mosquito insecticide control during the 2022 Japanese encephalitis outbreak
    • Nursery & garden
      • Nursery & garden pests
      • Nursery & garden product management
      • Nursery & garden best management practice
    • Onions
      • Onion pest threats
      • Onion pest eradication or control examples
    • Plantation forestry
      • Forestry biosecurity practices
      • Forestry pests
      • Hypothetical exotic bark beetle incursion
      • Plantation forestry quality assurance
    • Potatoes
      • Potato pest threats
      • Potato biosecurity areas
    • Sugarcane
      • Sugarcane best management practice
      • Sugarcane biosecurity essentials
      • Queensland Sugarcane Biosecurity Zones
      • Sugarcane pests and weeds
    • Vegetables
      • Vegetable pests
      • Vegetable product management
    • Viticulture
      • Phylloxera
      • Viticulture pests
      • Viticulture product management
  • Livestock
    • Alpacas
    • Beef cattle
    • Chickens
    • Dairy cattle
    • Ducks
    • Eggs
    • Feed mills
    • Goats
    • Horses
      • Mosquito Management for Horses
    • Lot feeding
    • New and emerging livestock industries
    • Pigs
      • Feeding your pigs
      • Controlling mosquitoes around piggeries
    • Ratites
    • Sheep
    • Zoo animals
  • Get help
    • Property biosecurity management planning
  • News
    • E-newsletter
    • Subscribe to Farm Biosecurity News
  • Stories
  • Videos

Sharing sheep health information provides value for money

Print this page
  • Home
  • News
  • Sharing sheep health information provides value for money

Sharing sheep health information provides value for money

When buying livestock, value for money is the first and foremost concern, as producers want to know that the stock they are purchasing will be productive and profitable.

One part of this is ensuring they come from a reputable source. The other part is ensuring that they are free of diseases and conditions which may impact their productivity.

For stock agents handling sheep sales, the national Sheep Health Declaration (SHD) is available to help their clients capture and record information about the health of the sheep being consigned and pass that information along to potential buyers.

“With an SHD, a buyer can make an informed choice regarding the health status of the sheep they wish to purchase,” said Dr Rob Barwell, Animal Health Australia’s Senior Manager Biosecurity.

“This will empower them to make arrangements for managing the arrival of the new sheep and their integration into their flock, as well as their strategy for managing these sheep in the future.”

The SHD includes a range of questions regarding common conditions which may be present in the flock of origin, or be under active management, including footrot, ovine brucellosis and Johne’s disease.

It also includes an opportunity for the vendor to record information about the most recent treatments for internal and external parasites, ensuring treatments are used appropriately to help avoid resistance.

“The SHD is recommended for Livestock Production Assurance purposes and we strongly encourage producers to always request a completed declaration when buying sheep, or proactively provide this information when looking to sell,” Dr Barwell explained.

“As the primary conduits between vendors and purchasers, stock agents are in an enviable position to ensure that animal health, welfare and biosecurity are central to the conversation any time that sheep change hands.”

With the SHD being included in the eNVD portal and as a key requirement of selling through AuctionsPlus it’s now easier than ever to prompt a vendor to fill in the Declaration, or assist them in doing so.

It is also available through Farm Biosecurity as both a digital and printable form.

“While agents may assist their clients in filling in the form, it’s important to note that, as they’re making a legal declaration, the vendor must be the one to sign on the dotted line,” said Dr Barwell.

Additionally, with New South Wales and Queensland making biosecurity a legal obligation for anyone involved in the livestock production or supply chains – and with more states likely to follow suit – it’s vital that stock agents take the time to discuss animal health and biosecurity with their clients.

“Purchasing and introducing new livestock is one of the most significant ways that diseases spread to new flocks,” Dr Barwell explained.

“It’s in everyone’s interest that stock agents, saleyards and transporters play a role in ensuring the health and welfare of individual flocks, for the sake of the industry nationwide.”

For more information on the Sheep Health Declaration, visit the Farm Biosecurity website.

Read the latest information on
Foot-and-mouth disease

Read the latest information on
Lumpy skin disease

Read the latest information on
Japanese encephalitis

Subscribe to our newsletter

Farm Biosecurity News

Use our profiler to make your

Biosecurity Toolkit

Latest News
  • 30 April 2025

    Silent invaders: what to watch out for this season
  • 28 April 2025

    The role of growers in the national biosecurity system
  • 28 April 2025

    Protecting Australia’s livestock: the critical role of the Ruminant Feed Ban
  • 28 April 2025

    Prevent, protect, and show with confidence
  • 31 March 2025

    Australia’s national biosecurity system: ready when it matters the most

Emergency Animal Disease Hotline
1800 675 888

Exotic Plant Pest Hotline
1800 084 881

  • Sitemap
  • Copyright
  • Contact us
  • Privacy & Disclaimer
  • Website by Morph Digital