Early animal disease detection key

Vigilant: Animal disease identification is important to limit impacts on trade, public health, and agricultural productivity. Photo: SUPPLIED

A SENIOR veterinary officer with Agriculture Victoria is encouraging farmers in the Golden Plains Shire area to regularly assess their livestock for new or exotic diseases.

Dr Jeff Cave said although Victoria is generally free of most serious animal diseases, the agricultural community, and veterinarians, need to remain vigilant.

“Ongoing surveillance for new or exotic disease is important to protect our livestock, to reassure our trading partners of Victoria’s favourable disease status, and to ensure the early detection of diseases that might impact on trade, public health, and farm or regional productivity,” he said.

“Early detection of emerging or exotic disease is the key to their effective management and this relies on farmers, vets and government working together.

“In the course of doing farm visits and treating livestock, veterinary practitioners must remain vigilant and consider the possibility of new, unusual or exotic diseases.”

Agriculture Victoria staff are offering subsidies to vets finding and reporting unusual disease outbreaks to help cover the costs of investigation and lab fees.

Dr Cave said this initiative has been designed to boost instances of early serious disease identification and reporting.

“Payment of subsidies is conditional upon approval being given by Agriculture Victoria before the investigation begins,” he said.

“This subsidy can be paid when a large number of animals are affected or there is an unusual presentation of a disease, an initial investigation fails to establish a diagnosis, or veterinary treatment does not produce the expected response, clinical signs are consistent with an emergency disease without a clear alternative diagnosis, or there is a possible effect on trade, public health or the viability of a farm, industry or region.”

Any farmers suspicious of disease amongst their livestock are asked to notify their vet promptly, or call the 24-hour emergency animal disease watch hotline on 1800 675 888.

Visit bit.ly/3RRbHHT for more information on the subsidy.