Building blocks for a new approach to managing ovine Johne’s disease in NSW
- Moving to a risk-based trading system that uses a credit scheme to help improve information on disease risk.
- Now supported as the preferred approach at a national level.
- Animal Health Australia’s OJD Stakeholder Committee announced their support for risk-based trading recently.
- Introducing mandatory health declarations for all traded sheep unless they are going directly to slaughter or are terminal lambs with strong penalties for those who provide false information.
- To ensure the new approach has the best chance of working, animal health statements will be mandatory for trading sheep for restocking.
- This is where the greatest risk of spreading the disease occurs.
- Producers who sell terminal lambs and/or sheep direct to slaughter will not be required to use an animal health declaration.
- Establishing the Gudair® vaccine as the primary tool for controlling OJD.
- Based on the knowledge that OJD cannot be eradicated from Australia in the short term.
- Investigating the development of a marker to prove when animals have been vaccinated.
- This will help strengthen the risk-based trading system.
- Allowing Rural Lands Protection Boards to establish exclusion areas – providing they have producer support for funding and management under the Agricultural Industry Services Act.
- The "Exclusion Area" concept was recommended by Mr Bull and mentioned in the OJD Advisory Committee report as a means of addressing producer concerns in low prevalence areas.
- These producers will most likely want to manage the impact of OJD in their area by keeping the disease out and eradicating any outbreak.
- Exclusion Areas will be self-funded and self-managed.
- RLPBs granted Exclusion Area status to be able to impose mandatory Property Disease Management Programs (vaccination or destocking) on high-risk flocks, under the Stock Diseases Act.
- Producers in Exclusion Areas would give this strong support, according to the NSW OJD Advisory Committee survey.
- Rural Lands Protection Boards which have been granted Exclusion Area status will manage this activity.
- Removal of regulatory controls over movement.
- Both NSW OJD reviews identified movement restrictions associated with zoning as a key issue to address.
- Currently the Assurance Based Credits (ABC) trading system is being developed at a national level.
- This is expected to form the basis for a national trading framework, to allow buyers to make more informed choices about the risks of OJD.
- This will need to be supported by stronger animal health declaration and a strong education program.
- Use of abattoir surveillance to provide positive and negative feedback to producers, subject to establishment of an industry funding mechanism.
- This surveillance has already helped identify flocks infected with OJD.
- There is industry support for both positive and negative results to be given to producers to help with their management of the disease.
- NSW Agriculture would undertake surveillance to map the regional prevalence of OJD.
- Generating industry leadership at an individual producer, local and State level.
- Producers will make decisions on what they do to manage OJD.
- They will have access to information on reducing the risk of bringing OJD onto their properties and managing the impact on production and trading opportunities if OJD is detected in their flock.
- Supporting producers through NSW Agriculture’s technical and educational support.
- NSW Agriculture will provide extension material on issues such as encouraging the uptake of vaccination and purchase of low risk sheep.
- Producers who find their stock infected will not be quarantined.
- Rather, they will be helped to work out the best option for their business, which may, for example, involve a vaccination program.
- Rural Lands Protection Boards to take a more advisory role.
- There will be flexibility for local areas and regions to determine the best approach for them, plus targets they want to set for disease control.
- It is expected that Boards wishing to opt for the Exclusion Area concept will first have to show that their ratepayers support the regulatory strategies and the funding of advisory and regulatory activities.
