As a landholder it is important to plan ahead for the coming season.
Whether it be livestock, crops, pastures or weeds and diseases it is vital to monitor changes and address issues to maintain your property.
The poultry biosecurity checklist summarises the actions needed to protect your poultry and the Western Australian poultry industry from the devastating effects of emergency diseases such as avian influenza or Newcastle disease.
Western Australia is free of most of the significant diseases that affect animals in other parts of the world. Ongoing surveillance is vital to ensure early detection of animal diseases that might impact on trade, regional or national animal health productivity, public health or the environment.
Requirements under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 and the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Regulations 2013 apply when importing livestock from interstate and/or overseas into Western Australia to protect WA from pests and diseases.
Bovine anaemia due to Theileria orientalis group (BATOG) is a disease of cattle that is caused by the blood parasite Theileria orientalis and spread by the bush tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis).
The importation of livestock into Western Australia and checking of imported livestock at the border is carried out by Quarantine WA (QWA).
Contact details for QWA are outlined below.
The National TSE Surveillance Program (NTSESP) conducts surveillance for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in cattle and scrapie in sheep.
Western Australia has laws that control chemical use on livestock. These laws protect people, animals and the environment from harm, and maintain access to overseas markets. Chemical users must follow label directions, not use unregistered veterinary chemicals (e.g.
Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is normally produced by bacteria in the rumen of cattle and sheep on well-balanced roughage diets.
Thiamine deficiency reduces energy availability to the brain, which leads to a type of brain degeneration called polioencephalomalacia or PEM.
Preventing lead residues in livestock protects human food safety and Western Australia's ongoing access to international markets. Lead is highly toxic to livestock, particularly cattle, and can result in sudden death.
