With the whole of New South Wales now gazetted as having either Control or Protected Area status for footrot, there is now less demand from industry for footrot certification at the flock level. A review of the Footrot Accredited Free Flock Scheme in 2002 indicated only limited industry support for the Scheme, and the NSW Footrot Steering Committee then elected to disband it. However, despite the decrease in footrot prevalence throughout NSW there will still be producers that, from time to time, will require veterinary certification of the footrot status of their flocks.

These guidelines have been prepared from the guidelines for the former Footrot Accredited Free Flock Scheme to help veterinarians inspecting sheep in the flock and issuing certificates. Topics covered include:

• definitions used in the guidelines;
• points to consider when assessing the footrot status of a property.