Livestock & animals

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development supply chain support, research and development and rigorous biosecurity systems underpin the economic success of Western Australia’s livestock industries. In 2011/12, the WA livestock industries contributed 26% of the state’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry production, worth approximately $2 billion at the farm gate.

WA is a world leader in live exports, super fine wool production and dryland sheep and grain systems. Both cattle and sheep systems are focused on export markets to Asia and the Middle East. WA also has innovative, world-class integrated dairy and pork industries meeting local and South East Asian demand for safe, fresh milk and pork. The WA poultry industry is growing strongly as a result of increasing domestic consumption.

Global demand for high-quality, safe animal protein and products produced according to high animal welfare standards will continue to rise in coming years. Increasingly DAFWA will partner with industry -- locally, nationally and internationally -- in transformational business projects to capitalise on this demand.

Previous Pause Next

Articles

  • An unmarked lamb in the yard

    Managing flystrike in sheep

    29 November 2013

    Flystrike is a significant health and welfare risk to Australian sheep and costs $280 million annually.

  • Itch mite as seen under a microscope, from skin scraping.

    Itch mite in sheep

    5 December 2013

    Itch mites are small, barely visible parasites of sheep; they live on the skin surface and cause rubbing and fleece chewing in a small proportion of infested animals.

  • Racing Pigeon

    Pigeon rotavirus in Western Australia

    23 January 2017

    Pigeon rotavirus was first detected in Western Australia as a result of investigation of a disease outbreak in racing pigeons in May and June 2016.

  • Nine pink adult free range pigs standing in various positions on dirt.

    Keep pigs healthy - follow the biosecurity checklist

    10 December 2013

    Pig owners play a vital role in maintaining Western Australia's high animal health status and reputation as a producer of quality livestock and livestock products.

  • Dr Kristine Rayner with cattle

    SMS livestock surveillance networks

    17 September 2018

    Cattle producers in the shires of Albany, Denmark and Plantagenet in Western Australia and sheep producers in the shires of Esperance and Ravensthorpe are invited to participate in local surveillan

  • Pastoral cattle

    Northern Australian Biosecurity Surveillance (NABS) activities in Western Australia

    21 May 2018

    The Northern Australia Biosecurity Surveillance (NABS) project is a coordinated surveillance program to enhance the early detection of exotic disease incursions and to provide sufficient surveillan

  • NULL

    Preventing calf scours in beef herds

    28 November 2013

    ‘Calf scours’ is when young calves develop diarrhoea and become dehydrated. The scour can be white, yellow, grey or blood-stained, and is often foul-smelling.

  • Diarrhoea in adult cattle

    22 May 2018

    There are a variety of possible causes of diarrhoea in adult cattle and they are often different to the common causes of diarrhoea, or scours, in calves.

  • Livestock post-mortem techniques workshop

    Sampling and post-mortem resources for veterinarians

    9 March 2015

    The following resources have been produced by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to assist veterinarians in selecting and preparing samples and conducting livesto

  • Sheep and lambs in a field

    Pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia of ewes

    12 December 2013

    Pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia affect lambing ewe flocks and have similar signs but different causes.

Pages

Filter by search

Filter by topic