Cattle Council of Australia moves to stop spread of lumpy skin disease

The Cattle Council of Australia will meet Wednesday to decide “the most important biosecurity policy the livestock industry has faced in decades” as lumpy skin disease runs rampant in Indonesia. Enhancing biosecurity to prevent an incursion of the disease, as well as response strategies for control and eradication, will be key discussion points when CCA’s policy council and board convene in Canberra. CCA — which includes members from WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA — is the peak body representing Australian beef cattle producers. CCA president Markus Rathsmann said the AUSVET Plan — a nationally agreed approach to respond to an incident of lumpy skin disease in Australia — would be integral to the council’s decision. “The industry’s response to lumpy skin disease will be the most crucial biosecurity policy decision our livestock industry has faced in decades,” he said. “An incursion of lumpy skin disease would shut down much of our live export and boxed beef markets. “We are working with our State farming organisation members, particularly in Northern Australia, to develop strategies to prevent an incursion.” Lumpy skin disease has never been detected in Australia but has been spreading rapidly throughout the world in recent years, becoming established in Africa, the Middle East, South-East Europe, Kazakhstan and Russia. Australian authorities have been on high alert since early March, when Indonesian authorities detected the disease in cattle in 31 villages in Sumatra’s Riau Province. It causes emaciation, painful skin lesions, fever, loss of appetite, sluggishness, decreased milk production, reproductive losses and in some cases death. It is spread by biting insects, the movement of infected animals and contaminated equipment, and has the ability to travel on the monsoon to Northern Australia. “Capripoxvirus or POX virus, commonly known as lumpy skin disease, is a devastating disease that will have huge implications for animal health, welfare and production, as well as impacting the entire beef supply chain,” Mr Rathsmann said. “The disease will have a devastating impact on the cattle industry and the businesses and communities that rely on it.” Australia’s beef industry is worth $40 billion annually and employs more than 450,000 people. Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has warned an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in Northern Australia would see the country’s live cattle trade “stopped overnight”. Tuesday’s Federal Budget included $61.6 million to boost biosecurity across Northern Australia, with $15 million allocated to support technical preparation and response capability in the fight against lumpy skin disease. The funding will also go towards expediting an approved vaccine for use in Australia. Mr Rathsmann welcomed the announcement but urged State governments to “step up and acknowledge the serious threat”. “They too need to invest and upgrade state biosecurity services,” he said. “The biosecurity measures that have protected our livestock industries from diseases such as foot and mouth are not effective in the control and spread of lumpy skin disease and will not be able to protect us. “Vaccination has, to date, proved to be the only effective method of control. “There is a high risk to our cattle industry, and we need to take immediate action and prepare. “If we don’t act now, it’s not a case of if we get the disease, but when.”