A GOOD biosecurity plan consists of sound practices and is as individual as the property it protects, according to Livestock Biosecurity Network’s Rachael O’Brien.
Biosecurity describes good management practices that will minimise the risk of either bringing disease/pests onto the property or spreading them by sending them off.
“To implement good biosecurity we first must understand what we are trying to achieve,” Ms O’Brien said.
“The common goal of most biosecurity plans will protect your livestock from pests and disease and the broader goal will prevent the entry, establishment or spread of a disease.”
Ms O’Brien said the golden rule of biosecurity was segregation.
“If we keep a disease or pest away from a host there is little chance the host will become infected,” she said.
“Our best biosecurity asset is our island status, being segregated geographically from other countries is why we do not have a lot of nasties that other countries do.
“Sure, we have plenty of hosts, but our absence of land borders with other countries decreases the likelihood of an exotic disease just dropping in.
“It also means we can focus our preventative methods in the areas that we know something may enter, rather than managing an entire border.”
The Australian Government works to protect Australia from serious biosecurity threats every day, but the people of Australia are the next line of defence.
“You do this by having an on-farm biosecurity plan, with processes in place that in the event of a disease introduction you can play your part in detecting it and assisting with its eradication or management,” Ms O’Brien said.
“A lot of what we producers do every day is actually part of good biosecurity in terms of managing endemic disease.
“Even a day-to-day management practice such as vaccinating your animals starts to have an effect on that disease because it’s unable to find a host the likelihood of it surviving starts to decrease
“Having an on farm biosecurity plan helps you to play your part in the greater picture of biosecurity.”
