Changes To Livestock Import Rules

AUSTRALIA - There have been several changes to the quarantine requirements for some classes of livestock coming into Tasmania.

2 December 2009

2 minute read

Oceania

Chief Veterinary Officer, Rod Andrewartha, said that people bringing animals into Tasmania should check the DPIPWE website in advance to ensure that they are meeting the new requirements and using the new forms. The changed details will be finalised this Friday (4 December).

Key changes include:

Increasing the responsibility of the consignors (usually the vendors) to monitor the animals’ health during the crucial seven days before they arrive in Tasmania and to vouch that the animals have not been exposed to a List A or List B disease for 30 days before crossing Bass Strait;
Exempting all beef cattle breeds originating from South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia or New South Wales (other than the North Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority area) from the Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL) testing requirement. The risk of these classes of cattle being infected with EBL is negligible and the tests were a significant cost for the Tasmanian importers;
Expanding the requirement that imported cattle be certified free of cattle ticks to other livestock species. Some of these other species are, on rare occasions, brought into Tasmania by air and thereby miss the cattle tick inspection and treatment lines interstate;
Adjusting the import requirements relating to cattle from Bovine Johne’s Disease herds interstate to reflect the reality that BJD is endemic in Tasmania and we are now a BJD Residual Zone;
Bringing a dog into Tasmania. Importers must provide evidence that the dog has been treated for Hydatid tapeworm (with 5mg/kg Praziquantel) within 14 days before departure to Tasmania. That proof of treatment can be a vet certificate, a signed statutory declaration or even an empty worming tablet packet backed by a written or verbal statement. Non-compliance will be more vigorously enforced and, as well as the formal order to treat on arrival here in Tasmania, an infringement notice and a $240 fine may be issued;
The forms used for importing livestock have been simplified and the old forms will no longer be used.