Call to protect livestock breeds from foot-and-mouth extermination with national gene bank

Hearings will resume next week in Canberra before a Senate committee tasked with reviewing the country's biosecurity measures and response preparedness, particularly in regards to foot-and-mouth disease and varroa mite.

Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association president and Tasmanian farmer, Brenton Heazlewood, has said about 17 breeds of Australian sheep could be described as very vulnerable to extermination if there was a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

"A proactive approach to help protect Australia's sheep breeds and all other livestock in the event of a FMD outbreak would be the establishment of a National Livestock Gene Bank - a type of high-tech Noah's Ark, in which semen, embryos and other genetic material would be stored," he said.

"This bank of genetic material would allow the reintroduction or quick build-up of breeds if required."

He said the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the UK resulted in the slaugher of about six million sheep and cattle were slaughtered.

Mr Heazlewood said in response, the country bolstered its national livestock gene bank.

"Australia does not have a national livestock gene bank," he said.

Mr Heazlewood said there were 15 breeds of sheep in Australia with less than 300 breeding females and four breads of sheep with less than 500 breeding females.

With regard to varroa mite, Tasmanian Beekeepers Association president Lindsay Bourke said more biosecurity officers were required to inspect and educate beekeepers.

He said more trap hives needed to be introduced to seaports and airports to monitor for the parasite.

"Sentinel hives which are only checked every few weeks needs the support of trap hives, which are remotely monitored to ensure a more adequate surveillance," Mr Bourke said.

On the recent incursion in NSW, he said varroa mite had been in the state for some time before it was detected in a sentinel hive.

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