As Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) continues to spread throughout Indonesia, Hastings farmers are preparing for the worst.
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Todd Richardson from Chef2Farmer at Little Eden said they are tightening their biosecurity measures in case the disease spreads to Australia.
"At the moment we're looking at our biosecurity measures to prepare in case it does get here," he said.
New cases and locations of the disease within the South East Asian areas with high Australian tourist numbers are causing concern.
This has prompted Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan to call on the Federal Government to impose a suspension on all non-essential travel to and from Indonesia to Australia for the next 90 days, effective immediately.
"I appreciate it would be disappointing to those who have planned holidays to beautiful Indonesia, but that disappointment pales into insignificance when compared to the devastation our country and our primary producers would be thrust into should FMD hit our country's livestock," Mr Conaghan said.
Mr Richardson agrees: "I think calling for the travel ban is awesome. The threat FMD poses to the Australian economy is astronomically huge," he said.
"It's not just meat products that would be impacted if the disease gets here, it's milk and dairy products and wool as well.
"Any animal can transport it. Vehicles, boots and people can also transport it if they come into contact with affected dung."
Mr Conaghan said it is becoming increasingly clear that current measures are not enough to ensure the preservation of the industry.
"Those who believe there is unnecessary hysteria around this issue either do not care or simply do not understand the impact this will have on farmers and ultimately every Australian family," he said.
"I don't see how a 90-day suspension while we take stock and ensure the right controls are effectively in place is an unreasonable request when compared to crippling alternative. We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in the UK happening here."
What is FMD and how does it impact livestock?
The highly contagious viral disease affects cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, and other cloven-hooved animals.
Infected animals may be contagious for several days before they show signs of disease, shedding virus in breath, saliva, mucus, milk and faeces.
Infected animals experience fever; blisters and erosions around the mouth, lips and tongue - making it painful for them to eat - as well as around the feet just near the hooves - causing lameness and often recumbency.
Milk production can drop dramatically, animals will lose weight and some, especially the young, will die.
FMD can spread to other animals by close contact, through infected animal products (such as pigs eating infected meat) or in contaminated mud or soil transported on shoes, tyres or clothes.
At low temperatures (4 degrees) and high humidity (60 per cent) the virus may spread some distance by wind.
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