South Korean authorities have ordered the culling of several hundred cattle and put in place biosecurity measures after confirming cases of foot and mouth disease in farms in a central province, the ministry of agriculture said. The cases mark the first confirmed outbreak since January 2019, according to media reports. The current contagion occurred in three farms in Cheongju in North…

A 20-year-old Spanish traveller has copped a $3,300 (USD$2,305) fine and had his visa cancelled—one of Australia’s toughest biosecurity infringements to date—after being caught bringing undeclared raw meat and cheese into Australia. The man became the first person to receive this tough of a fine for bringing a kilogram of raw pork meat and cheese…

Farmers have called for increased penalties after an Indonesian man was caught attempting to smuggle six kilograms of duck and meat products into Australia. The traveller failed to declare 3.1 kilograms of duck, 1.4 kilograms of beef rendang, over 500 grams of frozen beef and nearly 900 grams of chicken in his luggage. The man who…

An Australian state government has signed a deal with U..S biotechnology company Tiba Biotech to develop mRNA vaccines for Foot and mouth disease (FMD) and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) within a year. Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional New South Wales (NSW) Paul Toole said the milestone would protect Australia’s $28.7 billion (US$18.5 billion) livestock…

Australian officials are considering the possibility of completely banning travellers from bringing food from Indonesia into the country amid increasing concerns about an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD). Agriculture officials told a Senate inquiry into Australia’s response to the outbreak in Indonesia on Aug. 10 that it was feasible to implement a total…

With foot and mouth disease spreading across Indonesia, vigilance against the disease has increased in New Zealand, which the government has called a “doomsday” biosecurity risk for the country’s farming sector. “While not a threat to humans, it would devastate our national herd. Essentially, all animals that are of cloven hoof are at risk,” Prime…

With foot and mouth disease now present across 22 provinces in Indonesia and fragments of the virus found in Australia, Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton has joined fellow opposition members of parliament David Littleproud, Karen Andrews, and Barnaby Joyce in calling for Australia to close its border to the southeast Asian nation. However, Prime Minister…

Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has said that the country would not ban entry to travellers from Indonesia amid worries of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD). Speaking to Sky News Australia, Watt said the federal government had not considered shutting the border. “We have no plans to close the border, either to…

Viral fragments of foot and mouth disease and African swine fever have been detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer. Australia remains free of the diseases as the live virus was not detected, but Agriculture Minister Murray Watt reiterated the importance of biosecurity measures. The products, believed to be imported from China, were detected…

The New South Wales (NSW) state government is proposing a more evolved electronic identification tagging system for sheep and goats with Australian agriculture ministers on July 20 amid concerns a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak could wipe out parts of its agriculture sector. Currently, Australian cattle are able to be traced through electronic tagging…