New Johne’s disease (JD) import conditions for the movement of cattle, alpacas, camels, deer and goats into Western Australia will come into effect on 17 January 2022, aligning with the current JD import conditions for sheep.
The change has been made after extensive industry consultation and agreement that eradication of JD (cattle strain) was not technically or economically feasible, following the confirmation of the C-strain on a WA property in September 2021.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) liaised with key WA industry stakeholders about the new interstate JD import requirements and an appropriate transition period to implement the new conditions.
All JD susceptible livestock entering WA will still require a declaration there has been no suspected or confirmed JD on the property of origin or properties the animal inhabited in the five years prior to importation and there has been no contact with livestock suspected or known to be infected with the disease.
The most significant change is the removal of the mandatory requirement for imported livestock to have undertaken JD faecal testing.
All strains of JD, including sheep, cattle and bison strains, remain a reportable disease in WA under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 to meet international market certification obligations.
DPIRD Chief Veterinary Officer Michelle Rodan said the changes to the JD import conditions would be the State minimum requirements.
Dr Rodan said the requirements would still enable individual WA producers to request the seller to apply additional JD risk mitigation measures appropriate for their business when sourcing livestock from interstate.
“Producers are encouraged to review their approach to the risk of JD as part of their on-farm biosecurity plan, which includes implementing precautionary measures when introducing stock from both interstate and within WA,” she said.
“We encourage all importers to ask for a national camelid, cattle, goat and/or sheep health declaration when sourcing these animals, either from interstate or from within WA.”
The import conditions for mitigating the risk of the introduction of liver fluke into WA remains unchanged for all livestock.
More details about the new Johne’s disease import conditions and the health certification required for the movement of livestock into WA can be found here.