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A new report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) puts the cost of a large foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Australia at more than $50 billion over 10 years.
Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Mark Schipp, said the ABARES report served as a timely reminder about the importance of maintaining an effective biosecurity system in Australia.
Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Mark Schipp, said “Australia has a comprehensive biosecurity system designed to keep diseases such as FMD out of the country”.
“We have stringent controls at the border and we do quite a lot of work with our near neighbours in south-east Asia to minimise the risk of it getting in.”
Dr Schipp explained that plans are in place to ensure that, in the unlikely event that the disease did get into the country, it would be eradicated as quickly as possible.
The ABARES report assesses the economic and social impacts under a few FMD outbreak scenarios and shows that while still very costly, a small outbreak that is identified and eradicated quickly is not as devastating for producers and rural communities.
Friday October 11, 2013/ ABARES/ Australia.
http://www.daff.gov.au/abares/