RLPBs on front foot with footrot
Rural Lands Protection Boards (RLPBs) are stepping up surveillance and advisory activities to help keep the risk of introducing footrot into clean flocks low throughout the state.
State Council Animal Health Manager, Stephen Ottaway, said boards were developing targets to bring greater consistency to activities carried out across NSW and encourage producers to have lame sheep investigated.
“Although most of NSW is now declared a Protected Area and less than one flock in one hundred has footrot it’s important that we don’t become complacent particularly when moving or buying sheep from interstate.
“Footrot is a highly contagious bacterial disease that can have serious economic impacts as a result of reduced wool growth and quality and lower fertility.
“Currently there is no minimum standard for surveillance and advisory activity and a great deal of what is done by boards to detect new cases of footrot, such as tracing from infected flocks and lameness investigations, is done on a reactive basis.
“More surveillance needs to occur particularly in regions where there are no saleyards or requests to investigate suspected cases are infrequent,” Stephen Ottaway said.
RLPBs are setting targets that would apply state wide to ensure that an adequate number of surveillance activities are undertaken including more proactive measures such as random flock surveys.
RLPB saleyard inspections have been effective in deterring producers from sending infected sheep to sale. Random flock surveys will help to detect infected properties that don’t use saleyards.
“However boards recognise that there is a need to develop appropriate surveillance targets which recognise differences in sheep enterprises particularly in coastal and western districts,” Stephen Ottaway said.
Many producers no longer recognise footrot as a major risk that they need to consider when introducing new sheep into their flock.
As such targets for advisory activities including the distribution of material to agents, biosecurity workshops, articles in board newsletters and direct mail to sheep producers are also being developed.
“We hope that more consistent information fed through a number of channels will help encourage producers to remain vigilant and aware of risks and responsibilities,” Stephen Ottaway said.
For further information contact your local Rural Lands Protection Board.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Ingham (02) 6391 3242 Mob 0428 465 378