It’s important to have a biosecurity plan in place to protect your business against the threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD).
Significant preparations are already in place or underway to protect the red meat industry against these diseases should they arrive in Australia – but what can producers do on-farm now to protect their livestock and businesses?
Here are four ways you can be on the front foot and reduce the potential impacts of FMD and LSD.
1. Educate yourself and your employees
One of the most important steps to protecting your livelihood from these diseases is to gain an understanding of the symptoms of FMD and LSD, as well as how to report suspected outbreaks.
- Symptoms of
- Symptoms of
- How to report either of these diseases: Call the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
2. Meet all traceability obligations set by our integrity systems
To protect your business against biosecurity threats, you must ensure you’re adhering to all traceability obligations. These include:
- meeting requirements under the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Livestock Identification System (NLIS) such as tagging an animal with an NLIS-accredited tag or device from their property (PIC) of birth
- recording each animal movement in the
- completing eNVDs/NVDs so they’re clear, complete and correct.
Using this information, the NLIS can provide a life history of an animal’s movements and discern if contact with other livestock occurred.
