Australian Government invests more than $450,000 to improve domestic ability to deal with animal disease

The Australian Government has invested more than $450,000 to aid biosecurity at abattoirs. The Government said it invested the money to improve domestic abattoirs’ ability to deal with emergency animal disease. Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the investment recognised the central role of abattoir staff in the animal health system. “Abattoir staff play a critical role in biosecurity by inspecting animals and carcases for signs of pests and disease,” he said. “Australia exports over 70 per cent of what we produce and the detection of an emergency animal disease has the potential to stop trade overnight. “Abattoir staff can play an important role in maintaining our market access through early identification and reporting.” Mr Littleproud said the Government was working with Mintrac to develop new training and guidelines to equip abattoir staff to respond to an emergency. “This training will be developed in consultation with jurisdictional governments and industry and will support the national response to an outbreak,” he said. “By the end of that project, hundreds of trainees reported greater confidence about how to take appropriate action if presented with signs of an unusual disease.”