Foot and Mouth Disease Update
Council wishes to advise of further action being taken to address the threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)
Following last week’s call for federal action and Council’s commitment to keeping the local community informed.
A Qld Emergency Animal Disease Preparedness Taskforce has been established with representatives from federal, state, and local governments, the livestock industry, and supply chain businesses. The Taskforce has a focus on FMD and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach to prevention and response preparedness activities.
The Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is urging all livestock and supply chain stakeholders to:
- Know the signs of FMD and LSD and check stock regularly
- Report suspected cases to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888
- Protect their livelihood with a biosecurity management plan.
The Australian Government is responsible for the management and protection of Australia’s borders and has strengthened biosecurity measures in response to FMD and LSD outbreaks in Indonesia. This includes increased traveller interventions for flights arriving from Indonesia, placement of detector dogs at Cairns, additional signage informing travellers of FMD risk, and enhanced screening of non-letter mail from Indonesia.
The Australian Government is also providing active support to Indonesia’s response to FMD with one million FMD vaccine doses, 435,000 LSD vaccine doses and expertise on emergency animal disease management and biosecurity.
Information on LSD and FMD prevention and preparedness can be found on the DAF Livestock Emergency Animal Disease Preparedness hub.
