Australia has received confirmation from the Indonesian authorities that the export of live cattle from a particular registered establishment in the Northern Territory has been temporarily suspended, pending further investigations to determine the cause of the incident.
The suspension follows the confirmed mortalities on-board the Brahman Express.
The department continues to investigate the cause of the livestock mortalities. Clinical signs present in the cattle are consistent with botulism.
Botulism in cattle is most often caused by the cattle eating a toxin produced by bacteria in contaminated feed. It is not a contagious or exotic disease and is not a risk to the Australian herd or to human health.
Detecting botulism through tests is often difficult, owing to the low amounts of toxin present in the bloodstream of affected cattle. As a result, testing for botulism is a process of elimination and will take some time.
Testing undertaken at the Northern Territory Government’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory has excluded Bovine Ephemeral Fever and tick fever as possible causes of mortality. A number of other tests are still underway as part of the investigation.
Australia is confident that there is no evidence of an exotic disease, and our animal health status remains unchanged.
The department is committed to working closely with our international trading partners to provide assurance that all animals exported from Australia comply with their animal health requirements.
