Page 2669 - Week 07 - Thursday, 2 August 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Being able to trace livestock movements is increasingly important to assure our trading partners about the safety of our food and the integrity of our animals. Modern and effective biosecurity legislation is required to ensure that ACT primary producers have continued access to interstate and overseas markets. The bill’s amendments help to protect our livestock industry and the broader community and environment from potential disease outbreaks.
Sheep and cattle grazing is the primary activity conducted on rural land in the ACT. We have about 48,000 sheep, 7,000 cattle and 1,500 horses. We have 195,000 chickens on our poultry farms. Currently there are no feedlots, abattoirs or piggeries.
The ACT government is responsible for monitoring Canberra saleyards, with approximately 400 cattle passing through monthly. The gross value of livestock commodities produced in the ACT in 2016-17 was over $7 million according to the data from the ABS. Nationwide, the gross value of livestock commodities is approaching $30 billion annually.
Protecting the lucrative livestock industry is of paramount importance to Australia. Currently there is limited legislation in the ACT mandating the recording of stock movements. It is currently an offence, under section 47 of the Animal Diseases Act 2005, to move taggable stock that is not tagged. It is also a requirement of the Animal Diseases Regulation 2006 for cattle to be tagged with an approved NLIS device.
However, it is currently not mandatory in the ACT for sheep, goats and pigs to be fitted with an identification device and it is not mandatory for these livestock owners to have the property identification code, PIC. This means that a mob of sheep can be moved within the ACT from property to property without movements being recorded in the NLIS database. This creates difficulties in tracing the movements of stock in the event of disease outbreak.
The NLIS is Australia’s system for the permanent whole-of-life identification and traceability of livestock. This system aims to ensure that individual cattle, and also sheep, goats and pigs, can be traced from birth to slaughter or export. NLIS is endorsed by major producers, feedlots, agents, saleyards and processor bodies. The database identifies animals and their physical location, by the PICs, and provides electronic access to information. The NLIS helps rural landholders and other livestock industry participants to meet national livestock traceability performance standards.
In the ACT, currently only cattle are required to have the device fitted and their movements traceable through the database. As cattle move between properties with different PICs, this is recorded in the NLIS database. Cattle can be traced on and off different properties, saleyards and abattoirs. This is important. If, for example, chemical or antibiotic residues are detected in a meat at an abattoir, the property where the affected stock were last held can be identified and investigations done on the property as to why the residues occurred. Knowing all the properties on which the animals resided means that the problem can be more quickly addressed.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video